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michaelbogild · 3 years

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Lines by Bruce Springsteen

Shithole on the corner, no light, no sign Nobody on the street except the deaf, dumb, and blind

Now your death is upon us, and we'll return your ashes to the earth And I know you'll take comfort in knowing you've been roundly blessed and cursed

Some girls, they want a handsome Dan Or some good-lookin' Joe on their arm Some girls like a sweet-talkin' Romeo Well, 'round here, baby I learned you get what you can get So if you're rough enough for love Honey, I'm tougher than the rest

Can't see nothing in front of me Can't see nothing coming up behind Make my way through this darkness I can't feel nothing but this chain that binds me Lost track of how far I've gone How far I've gone, how high I've climbed On my back's a sixty pound stone On my shoulder, a half-mile line

A mother prays, "Sleep tight, my child, sleep well For I'll be at your side That no shadow, no darkness, no tolling bell Shall pierce your dreams this night"

Tonight we'll sing the songs I'll dream of you, my corazón And tomorrow my heart will be strong And may the saints blessing and grace Carry me safely into your arms There, across the border

We are alive And though our bodies lie alone here in the dark Our spirits rise To carry the fire and light the spark To stand shoulder to shoulder and heart to heart

The condition you're in Now you just can't get out of this skin

The hurricane blows, brings a hard rain When the blue sky breaks, it feels like the world's gonna change We'll start caring for each other like Jesus said that we might I'm a Jack of all trades, we'll be alright

You shot through my anger and rage To show me my prison was just an open cage There were no keys no guards Just one frightened man and some old shadows for bars

You gave your love to see In fields of red and autumn brown You gave your love to me And lay your young body down

If the angels are unkind or the season is dark Or if in the end Love just falls apart Then here's to our destruction Baby let me be your soul driver

I know we're different you and me Got a different way of walking The time has come to let the past be history Yeah, if we could just start talking

I chased the heat of her blood Like it was the holy grail Descend beautiful spirit Into the evening pale Her appaloosa's Kicking in the corral smelling rain There's a low thunder rolling Across the mesquite plain

The dust of civilizations and love's sweet remains Slip off of your fingers and come drifting down like rain The pages of Revelation lie open in your empty eyes of blue I watch you slip that comb through your hair and this, I promise you, I'll work for your love, dear

Tend to your flock or they will stray We'll be called for our service come judgment day Before we cross that river wide The blood on our hands will come back on us twice

Bird on a wire outside my motel room But he ain't singing Girl in white outside a church in June But the church bells ain't ringing I'm sitting here in this bar tonight But all I'm thinking Is I'm the same old story, same old act One step up and two steps back

Goodbye, my darling For your love, I give God thanks, Meet me on the Matamoros banks

Trees on fire with the first fall's frost Long black line in front of Holy Cross Blood moon rising in a sky of black dust Tell me baby, who do you trust?

He saw the watcher at the city gates Jonah in the belly of a whale He watched you walk your ragged mile His mercy it did not fail

I got somethin' in my heart, I been waitin' to give I got a life I wanna start, one I been waitin' to live No more waitin', tonight I feel the light I say the prayer I open the door, I climb the stairs

Yeah funny, I thought I felt a sweet summer breeze Must have been you sighing so deep, Don't worry, we're going to find a way

So you been broken and you been hurt Show me somebody who ain't Yeah I know I ain't nobody's bargain But hell a little touchup And a little paint

Tires on the highway hissing that something's coming You can feel the wires in the tree tops humming Devil's on the horizon line Your kiss and I'm alive

Mister trouble come walkin' this way Year gone past feels like one long day But I'm alive and I'm feelin' all right Well I run that hard road outta hearbreak city Built a roadside carnival out of hurt and self-pity It was all wrong well now I'm movin' on

Band's counting out midnight Floor's rumbling loud Singer's calling up daylight And waiting for that shout from the crowd

Remember the morning we dug up your gun The worms in the barrel, the hanging sun Those first nervous evenings of perfume and gin The lost smell on your breath as I helped you get it in The rush of your lips, the feel of your name The beat in your heart, the devil's arcade

You're looking for the key of that box you locked yourself in

I hold my breath and close my eyes And I wait for paradise

The road is dark And it's a thin thin line But I want you to know I'll walk it for you any time Maybe your other boyfriends Couldn't pass the test Well, if you're rough and ready for love Honey, I'm tougher than the rest

Well now on a summer night in a dusky room Come a little piece of the Lord's undying light Crying like he swallowed the fiery moon In his mother's arms it was all the beauty I could take Like the missing words to some prayer that I could never make In a world so hard and dirty so fouled and confused Searching for a little bit of God's mercy I found living proof

Now it's some old Stones' song the band is trashin' But if you feel like dancin', baby, I'm askin'

I got seven pictures of Buddha The prophet's on my tongue Eleven angels of mercy Sighing over that black hole in the sun My heart's dark but it's rising I'm pulling all the faith I can see From that black hole on the horizon I hear your voice calling me

So tell me what I see when I look in your eyes Is that you baby or just a brilliant disguise

I wanna build me a house, on higher ground I wanna find me a world, where love's the only sound High above this road, filled with shadow and doubt I want to shoulder my load, and figure it all out With Leah

But love and duty called you some place higher Somewhere up the stairs, into the fire

Hard times, baby well they come to us all Sure as the ticking of the clock on the wall Sure as the turning of the night into day Your smile girl, brings the morning light to my eyes Lifts away the blues when I rise I hope that you're coming to stay

I heard somebody call your name from underneath our willow I saw something tucked in shame underneath your pillow Well I've tried so hard baby but I just can't see What a woman like you is doing with me

Now everyone dreams of a love lasting and true But you and I know what this world can do So let's make our steps clear that the other may see And I'll wait for you If I should fall behind Wait for me

Now I was young and pretty on the mean streets of the city And I fought to make 'em my home With just the shirt on my back I left and swore I'd never look back And man I was gone gone gone But there's things that'll knock you down you don't even see coming And send you crawling like a baby back home You're gonna find out that day, sugar

She sits on the porch of her daddy's house Oh but honey your pretty dress is torn She stared off alone into the night With the eyes of one who hates for just being born

Well here's to your good looks baby now here's to my health Here's to the loaded places that we take ourselves When it comes to luck you make your own Tonight I got to dirt on my hands but I'm building me a new home

My father said, "Son, we're lucky in this town It's a beautiful place to be born It just wraps its arms around you Nobody crowds you, and nobody goes it alone"

In the darkness my fingers slip across your skin I feel your sweet reply The room fades away and suddenly I'm way up high Just holdin' you to me As through the window the moonlight streams Oh won't you baby be in my book of dreams

Well it's never too late so come on girl The tables are waiting You and me and lady luck well tonight We'll be celebrating Drinkin' champagne on ice In just another roll of the dice

Same old faces it's the same old town What once was laughs is draggin' me now Waitin' on rain hangin' on for love Words of forgiveness from some God above Ain't no words of mercy comin' from on high Oh no just a long goodbye

We've given each other some hard lessons lately We ain't learning We're the same sad story, that's a fact One step up and two steps back

Taj Mahal, the pyramids of Egypt are unique, I suppose But when they built you, brother, they broke the mold

I need you to chase these blues away Without you, I'm a drummer girl that can't keep a beat, Ice cream truck on a deserted street

Good times got a way of slipping away

It's the same thing night on night Who's wrong baby who's right Another fight and I slam the door On another battle in our dirty little war

Is dry lightning on the horizon line Just dry lightning and you on my mind

The day rips apart A dark and bloody arrow pierced my heart

There's a cross up yonder on Calvary Hill There's a slip of blood on a silver knife There's a graveyard kid down below Where at night the dead come to life

My soul went walkin' but I stayed here Feel like I been workin' for a thousand years Chippin' away at this chain of my own lies Climbin' a wall a hundred miles high Well I woke up this morning on the other side Yeah yeah this is the long goodbye

Now sometimes tomorrow comes soaked in treasure and blood Here we stood the drought, now we'll stand the flood There's a new world coming, I can see the light I'm a Jack of all trades, we'll be alright

I'm trudging through the dark in a world gone wrong I woke up this morning shackled and drawn

Now, when all this steel and these stories Drift away to rust And all our youth and beauty Has been given to the dust When the game has been decided And we're burnin' down the clock And all our little victories and glories Have turned into parking lots

The rain it keeps on falling on twisted bones and dirt I'm buried to my heart here in this hurt

These are better days baby Yeah there's better days shining through These are better days baby Better days with a girl like you

Now I ply my trade in the land of king dollar Where you get paid and your silence passes as honor And all the hatred and dirty little lies Been written off the books and into decent men's eyes

Well, darling if you're weary Lay your head upon my chest We'll take what we can carry Yeah, and we'll leave the rest

Give me help, give me strength Give a soul a night of fearless sleep Give me love, give me peace Don't you know these days you pay for everything

Where're the eyes, the eyes with the will to see Where're the hearts that run over with mercy Where's the love that has not forsaken me Where's the work that set my hands, my soul free Where's the spirit that'll reign, reign over me Where's the promise from sea to the shining sea

Been on a barbed wire highway 40 days and nights I ain't complaining, it's my job and it suits me right I got a sweet soft fever rushing around my head I'm gonna sleep tonight in Maria's bed

Baby, once I thought I knew Everything I needed to know about you Your sweet whisper, your tender touch I didn't really know that much Joke's on me, but it's going to be okay If I can just get through this lonesome day

Ain't no mercy on the streets of this town Ain't no bread from heavenly skies Ain't nobody drawin' wine from this blood It's just you and me tonight

I knew some day your running would be through and you'd think back on me and you And your love would be strong You'd forget all about the bad and think only of all the laughs that we had And you'd wanna come home Well, now it ain't hard feelings or nothing, sugar That ain't what's got me singing this song It's just nobody knows baby where love goes But when it goes it's gone gone

Dark and bloody autumn pierces my heart The memory of your kiss tears me apart The sky above is turning, the world below's gone gray I thought that I could turn and walk away

Einstein and Shakespeare Sitting having a beer Einstein trying to figure out the number that adds up to this Shakespeare said, "Man it all starts with a kiss" Einstein is scratching Numbers on his napkin Shakespeare said, "Man, it's just one and one make three Ah, that's why it's poetry"

Your sweet memory comes on the evening wind I sleep and dream of holding you in my arms again The lights of Brownsville across the river shine A shout rings out, into the silty red river, I dive

Seven days, seven candles In my window, light your way Your favorite record's on the turntable I drop the needle and pray

Well, the piss yellow sun Comes bringing up the day She said "Ain't nobody can give nobody What they really need anyway"

Your voice comes calling through the mist I awake from a dream and my heart begins to drift

I'll hammer the nails and I'll set the stone I'll harvest your crops when they're ripe and grown I'll pull that engine apart and patch her up 'til she's running right I'm a Jack of all trades, we'll be alright

I want a thousand guitars I want pounding drums I want a million different voices speaking in tongues

Out where the sky's been cleared by a good hard rain There's somebody callin' my secret name

Blood on the streets Yeah, blood flowing down I hear the blood of my blood Crying from the ground

Well, it ought to be easy, it ought to be simple enough Yeah, man meets woman and they fall in love But this house is haunted and the ride gets rough You've got to learn to live with what you can't rise above If you want to ride on down, down in through this tunnel of love

You said, "Heroes are needed, so heroes get made" Somebody made a bet, somebody paid The cool desert morning and nothing to save Just metal and plastic where your body caved

Well I took a piss at fortune's sweet kiss It's like eatin' caviar and dirt It's sad funny ending to find yourself pretending A rich man in a poor man's shirt

In the late afternoon sun fills the room with a mist in the garden before the fall I watch your hands smooth the front of your blouse and seven drops of blood fall

I'm standing in the backyard Listening to the party inside Tonight I'm drinkin' in the forgiveness This life provides

We've got no fairytale ending In God's hands our fate is complete Your heaven's here in my heart Our love's this dust beneath my feet

Billy felt a coldness rise up inside him that he couldn't name Just as the words tattooed 'cross his knuckles he knew would always remain At their bedside, he brushed the hair from his wife's face as the moon shone on her skin so white Filling their room in the beauty of God's fallen light

Now Tom said, "Mom, wherever there's a cop beating a guy Wherever a hungry newborn baby cries Where there's a fight against the blood and hatred in the air Look for me, Mom, I'll be there

Well tonight I just wanna shout I feel my soul waist deep and sinking Into this black river of doubt I just wanna rise and walk along the riverside And when the morning comes baby I don't wanna hide I'll stand right at your side with my arms open wide

Hands me two tickets, smiles and whispers good luck Well cuddle up angel, cuddle up my little dove We'll ride down baby into this tunnel of love

Everything is everything But you're missing

Where the distant oceans sing and rise to the plains In this dry and troubled country, your beauty remains Down from the mountain roads where the highway rolls to dark Beneath Allah's blessed rain, we remain worlds apart

The moon is high and here I am Sittin' here with this hammer in hand One more drink oughta ease the pain Starin' at that last link in the chain Well let's raise our glass and let the hammer fly Hey yeah this is the long goodbye

Baby let's get our bags packed We'll take it here to hell and heaven and back And if love is hopeless hopeless at best Come on put on your party dress it's ours tonight And we're going with the tumblin' dice

I got a cold mind to go tripping across that thin line I'm sick of doing straight time

There's a girl across the bar I get the message she's sending Hmm she ain't looking too married Me well honey I'm pretending Last night I dreamed I held you in my arms The music was never ending We danced as the evening sky faded to black One step up and two steps back

Well the highway is alive tonight But nobody's kidding nobody about where it goes I'm sitting down here in the campfire light Searching for the ghost of Tom Joad

I got my finger on the trigger But I don't know who to trust When I look into your eyes There's just devils and dust

Well now his kisses may thrill Those other girls that he likes But when it comes to treatin' A real woman right Well all of his tricks No they won't be enough 'Cause lovin' you baby lovin' you woman Lovin' you darlin' is a man's man's job

There was a woman waiting at the well Drawing water beneath a desert sky of blue She said "He'll heal the blind, raise the dead Cure the sickness out of you"

I been knocking on the door that holds the throne I been looking for the map that leads me home I been stumbling on good hearts turned to stone The road of good intentions has gone dry as a bone

Wherever somebody's fighting for a place to stand Or a decent job or a helping hand Wherever somebody's struggling to be free Look in their eyes, Ma, and you'll see me"

Tell me in a world without pity Do you think what I'm askin's too much? I just want something to hold on to And a little of that human touch

Tell me someone, what's the price I want to buy some time and maybe live my life I want to have a wife, I want to have some kids I want to look in their eyes and know they'll stand a chance

Well, your desires for your sweet confusion I'll walk away then, I don't buy your delusions

She gave me candy stick kisses 'neath a wolf-dog moon One sweet breath and she'll take you, mister, to the upper room I was burned by the angels, sold wings of lead Then I fell in the roses and sweet salvation of Maria's bed

It's a fairytale so tragic There's no prince to break the spell I don't believe in magic But for you, I will

Now a life of leisure and a pirate's treasure Don't make much for tragedy But it's a sad man my friend who's livin' in his own skin And can't stand the company. Every fool's got a reason for feelin' sorry for himself And turning his heart to stone Tonight this fool's halfway to heaven and just a mile outta hell And I feel like I'm comin' home

Is it the sound of the leaves left blown by the wayside That's got me out here on this spooky old highway tonight Is it the cry of the river with the moonlight shining through That ain't what scares me baby, what scares me is losing you

Darlin' give me your kiss Come and take my hand I am the nothing man

Now there's a loss that can never be replaced A destination that can never be reached A light you'll never find in another's face A sea whose distance cannot be breached

They destroyed our families, factories And they took our homes They left our bodies on the plains The vultures picked our bones

Like a thief on Sunday morning It all falls apart with no warning

I got the fortunes of heaven in diamonds and gold I got all the bonds baby that the bank could hold I got houses 'cross the country honey end to end And everybody buddy wants to be my friend Well I got all the riches baby any man ever knew But the only thing I ain't got, honey, I ain't got you

Gray morning light spits through the shade Another day older, closer to the grave Closer to the grave and come the dawn I woke up this morning shackled and drawn

Now you play the loving woman, I'll play the faithful man But just don't look too close into the palm of my hand Well we stood at the alter, the gypsy swore our future was right But come the wee wee hours maybe baby the gypsy lied

You walk real pretty and you talk real fine But night after night babe I'm on the line

I'm counting on a miracle

Dancing down a dark hole Just searching for a world with some soul

Gambling man rolls the dice, workingman pays the bill It's still fat and easy up on banker's hill Up on banker's hill, the party's going strong Down here below we're shackled and drawn

Well, Jesus kissed his mother's hands Whispered, "Mother, still your tears For remember the soul of the universe Willed a world and it appeared

Come to the door, Ma, and unlock the chain I was just passing through and got caught in the rain There's nothing that I want, nothing that you need say Just let me lie down for a while and I'll be on my way

Your world keeps turning round and round But everything is upside down Your own worst enemy has come to town

Shackled and drawn, shackled and drawn Pick up the rock son, carry it on What's a poor boy to do in a world gone wrong? I woke up this morning shackled and drawn

And though my heart's grown weary And more than a little bit shy Tonight I'll drink from her waters to quench my thirst And leave the angels to worry With every wish

Rode through forty nights of the gospels' rain Black sky pourin' snakes frogs And love in vain You were down where the river grows wider Baby let me be your soul driver

Don't worry, darling No baby, don't you fret We're living in the future And none of this has happened yet

There's a lot of talk going around you Let them talk, you know you're the only one There's a lot of walls need tearing down Together we could take them down one by one

I could smell the same deep green of summer Above me the same night sky was glowing In the distance I could see the town where I was born

Oh feelin' like a real man I ain't no fighter that's easy to see And as a lover I ain't goin' down in history But when the lights go down and you pull me close Well I look in your eyes and there's one thing I know Baby I'll be tough enough If I can find the guts to give you all my love Then I'll be feelin' like a real man

I hold you in my arms as the band plays What are those words whispered baby just as you turn away I saw you last night out on the edge of town I wanna read your mind to know just what I've got in this new thing I've found

Maybe I'm just a clown throwin' down Lookin' to come up busted I'm a thief in the house of love And I can't be trusted Well I'll be makin' my heist In just another roll of the dice

Now I see your pieces crumbled, and our book of faith's been tossed And I'm just down here searching for my own piece of the cross

Pockets full of dust, my mouth filled with cool stone The pale moon opens the earth to its bones

raise your hand And together we'll walk into Canaan land

On the plains of Jordan I cut my bow from the wood Of this tree of evil Of this tree of good

Well my soul checked out missing as I sat listening To the hours and minutes tickin' away Yeah just sittin' around waitin' for my life to begin While it was all just slippin' away I'm tired of waitin' for tomorrow to come Or that train to come roarin' 'round the bend I got a new suit of clothes a pretty red rose And a woman I can call my friend

From a house on a hill a sacred light shines I walk through these rooms but none of them are mine Down empty hallways I went from door to door Searching for my beautiful reward

A little sweet talk to cover over all of the lies You came runnin' back but to my surprise Well there was somethin' gone in Gloria's eyes

Last night I stood at your doorstep Tryna figure out what went wrong You just slipped something into my palm, and you were gone

I sink beneath the river cool and clear Drifting down, I disappear I see you on the other side I search for the peace in your eyes

I had some victory that was just failure in deceit Now the joke's comin' up through the soles of my feet I been a long time walking on fortune's cane Tonight I'm sleepin' lightly and feelin' no pain

Better ask questions before you shoot Deceit and betrayal's a bitter fruit It's hard to swallow, come time to pay That taste on your tongue don't easily slip away Thy kingdom come, I'm going to find my way Yeah, through this lonesome day

Well there in the high trees love's bluebird glides Guiding us 'cross to another river on the other side And there someone is waitin' with a look in her eyes

Oh girl that feeling of safety you prize Well it comes with a hard hard price You can't shut off the risk and pain Without losin' the love that remains We're all riders on this train

I walk this road, with a hammer and a fiery lantern With this hand I've built, and with this I've burned I wanna live in the same house, beneath the same roof Sleep in the same bed, search for the same proof As Leah

I built a shrine in my heart it wasn't pretty to see Made out of fool's gold memory and tears cried Now I'm heading over the rise I'm searching for one clear moment of love and truth I still got a little faith But what I need is some proof tonight I'm lookin' for it in your eyes

I been out in the desert, yeah, doing my time Sifting through the dust for fool's gold, looking for a sign Holy man said "Hold on, brother, there's a light up ahead" Ain't nothing like a light that shines on me in Maria's bed

They say if you die in your dreams, you really die in your bed But honey last night I dreamed my eyes rolled straight back in my head And God's light came shinin' on through I woke up in the darkness scared and breathin' and born anew It wasn't the cold river bottom I felt rushing over me It wasn't the bitterness of a dream that didn't come true It wasn't the wind in the grey fields I felt rushing through my arms No no baby, baby it was you

Now if you're lookin' for a hero Someone to save the day Well darlin' my feet They're made of clay But I've got somethin' in my soul And I wanna give it up But gettin' up the nerve Gettin' up the nerve Gettin' up the nerve is a man's man's job

If the sun should fall from the sky tomorrow If the rain brings the tears to your eye, I would share your sorrow

I've stumbled and I know I made my mistakes But tonight I'm gonna be playin' for all of the stakes

Well, no cannonball did fly, no rifles cut us down No bombs fell from the sky, no blood soaked the ground No powder flash blinded the eye No deathly thunder sounded But just as sure as the hand of God They brought death to my hometown

With these hands We pray for the strength, Lord

On the road to Basra stood young Lieutenant Jimmy Bly Detailed to go through the clothes of the soldiers who died At night in dreams he sees their souls rise Like dark geese into the Oklahoma skies

Well your hair shone in the sun I was so high I was the lucky one Then I came crashing down like a drunk on a barroom floor Searching for my beautiful reward

I'll mow your lawn, clean the leaves out your drain I'll mend your roof to keep out the rain I'll take the work that God provides I'm a Jack of all trades, honey, we'll be alright

Past the playgrounds and empty switching yards The turtles eat the skin from your eyes, so they lay open to the stars

Me and my girl Saturday night Late movie on channel five The girls were droppin' they're droppin' like flies To some smooth talkin' cool walkin' private eye I ain't got no nerves of steel But all I got to know is if your love is real

Sleeping beauty awakes from her dream With her lover's kiss on her lips Your kiss was taken from me Now all I have is this

I put my heart and soul I put 'em high upon a shelf Right next to the faith the faith that I'd lost in myself I went down into the desert city Just tryin' so hard to shed my skin I crawled deep into some kind of darkness Lookin' to burn out every trace of who I'd been You do some sad sad things baby When it's you you're tryin' to lose You do some sad and hurtful things I've seen living proof

It was dark, too dark to see You held me in the light you gave You lay your hand on me Then walked into the darkness of your smoky grave

My life's the same story Again and again I' m on the outside looking in

My ship Liberty sailed away On a bloody red horizon The groundskeeper opened the gates And let the wild dogs run

Now you were the Red Sea I was Moses I kissed you and slipped into a bed of roses The waters parted and love rushed inside I was Jesus' son sanctified

Now the sweet bells of mercy Drift through the evening trees Young men on the corner Like scattered leaves

Around here everybody acts the same Around here everybody acts like nothing's changed

Oh there's somethin' in your soul That he's gonna rob And lovin' you baby lovin' you darlin' Lovin' you woman is a man's man's job

Well now all that's sure on the boulevard Is that life is just a house of cards As fragile as each and every breath Of this boy sleepin' in our bed

He pulls a prayer book out of his sleeping bag Preacher lights up a butt and he takes a drag Waiting for when the last shall be first and the first shall be last In a cardboard box 'neath the underpass

Now the world is filled with many wonders under the passing sun And sometimes something comes along, and you know it's for sure the only one The Mona Lisa, the David, the Sistine Chapel, Jesus, Mary, and Joe And when they built you, brother, they broke the mold

You said my act was funny but we both knew what was missing, honey

Tonight I can feel the cold wind at my back I'm flying high over gray fields my feathers long and black Down along the river's silent edge I soar Searching for my beautiful reward

Now get yourself a song to sing and sing it till you're done Sing it hard and sing it well Send the robber barons straight to hell

I'm just a lonely pilgrim, I walk this world in wealth I want to know if it's you I don't trust 'cause I damn sure don't trust myself

This is radio nowhere Is there anybody alive out there?

All over the world the rain was pourin' I was scratchin' where it itched Oh heartbreak and despair got nothing but boring So I grabbed you baby like a wild pitch

Tonight our bed is cold, I'm lost in the darkness of our love God have mercy on the man who doubts what he's sure of

Well I've been a losin' gambler Just throwin' snake eyes Love ain't got me downhearted I know up around the corner lies My fool's paradise In just another roll of the dice

The Virginia hills have gone to brown Another day, another sun going down I visit you in another dream

When they built you, brother, they turned dust into gold When they built you, brother, they broke the mold

It's coming on closing time Bartender, he's ringin' last call These days I don't stand on pride I ain't afraid to take a fall

They say you can't take it with you, but I think that they're wrong Because all I know is I woke up this morning, and something big was gone Gone into that dark ether where you're still young and hard and cold Just like when they built you, brother, they broke the mold

You'll be fine long as your pretty face holds out Then it's going to get pretty cold out

You and me we were the pretenders We let it all slip away In the end what you don't surrender Well the world just strips away

So when you look at me you better look hard and look twice Is that me baby or just a brilliant disguise

You can't sleep at night You can't dream your dream Your fingerprints on file Left clumsily at the scene

On his right hand, Billy'd tattooed the word "love", on his left hand was the word "fear" And in which hand he held his fate was never clear Come Indian summer, he took his young lover for his bride And with his own hands built her a great house down by the riverside

We've got God on our side We're just trying to survive What if what you do to survive Kills the things you love

Now my ass was draggin' when from a passin' gypsy wagon Your heart like a diamond shone Tonight I'm layin' in your arms carvin' lucky charms Out of these hard luck bones

It'll take your God-filled soul Fill it with devils and dust

I'm driving a big lazy car rushin' up the highway in the dark I got one hand steady on the wheel and one hand's tremblin' over my heart It's pounding baby like it's gonna bust right on through And it ain't gonna stop till I'm alone again with you

For all the blown-off strangers and hot rod angels Stumbling through this promised land Tonight my baby and me we're gonna ride to the sea And wash these sins off our hands

But they're as empty as paradise

Quiet afternoon in the empty house On the edge of the bed, you slip off your blouse The room is burning with the noon sun Your bittersweet taste on my tongue

Well now our old fears and failures, oh baby, they do linger Like the shadow of that ring that was on your finger

Well by Our Lady Of The Roses we lived in the shadow of the elms I remember ma dragging me and my sister up the street to the church whenever she heard those wedding bells Well would they ever look so happy again yeah the handsome groom and his bride As they stepped into that long black limousine for their mystery ride Well tonight you step away from me and alone at the alter I stand As I watch my bride coming down the aisle I pray for the strength to walk like a man

You got a one-way ticket to the promised land You got a hole in your belly and a gun in your hand Sleeping on a pillow of solid rock Bathing in the city's aqueduct

You might need somethin' to hold on to When all the answers they don't amount to much Somebody that you can just talk to And a little of that human touch

Easy street, a quick buck, and true lies Smiles as thin as those dusky blue skies

I'm running through the forest With this wolf at my heels My king is lost at midnight When the tower bells peal

Forty-one shots and we'll take that ride Across the bloody river to the other side Forty-one shots cut through the night You're kneeling over his body in the vestibule Praying for his life

Let your mind rest easy Sleep well my friend It's only our bodies that betray us in the end

Well now the years have gone and I've grown yeah from that seed you've sown But I didn't think there'd been so many steps I'd have to learn on my own Well I was young and I didn't know what to do when I saw your best steps stolen away from you Now I'll do what I can, I'll walk like a man And I'll keep on walking

I got a house full of Rembrandt and priceless art And all the little girls, they wanna tear me apart When I walk down the street, people stop and stare Well, you'd think I might be thrilled but baby I don't care 'Cause I got more good luck honey than old King Farouk But the only thing I ain't got, baby, I ain't got you

Coming from the city, coming from the wild I see a breathless army breaking like a cloud They're going to smother love, they're going to shoot your hopes Before the meek inherit they'll learn to hate themselves

Got on a dead man's suit and a smiling skull ring Lucky graveyard boots and a song to sing I keep my heart in my work, my troubles in my head And I keep my soul in Maria's bed

"Every cloud has a silver lining, every dog has his day" She said "Now don't say nothing If you don't have something nice to say

Now Billy was an honest man, he wanted to do what was right He worked hard to fill their lives with happy days and loving night Alone on his knees in the darkness for steadiness he'd pray For he knew in a restless heart the seed of betrayal lay

Whose blood will spill, whose heart will break Who'll be the last to die for a mistake

Well I awoke last night in the dark and dreamy deep From my head to my feet my body's gone stone cold There were worms crawling all around me My fingers scratching at an earth black and six foot low Alone in the blackness of my grave Alone I'd been left to die Then I heard voices calling all around me The earth rose above me My eyes filled with sky

Plastics, wire and your kiss The breath of eternity on your lips

For a while you'll go sparkling by Just another pretty thing on high

Don't know when this chance might come again Good times got a way of coming to an end

I search for you on the other side Where the river runs clean and wide Up to my heart, the waters rise

Hell's brewing, dark sun's on the rise This storm will blow through, by and by House is on fire, vipers in the grass Little revenge and this too shall pass This too shall pass, darling, yeah I'm going to pray Right now, all I got is this lonesome day

I love to see your hair shining In the long summer's light I love to watch the stars fill the sky On a summer night The music plays you take his hand I watch how you touch him as you start to dance And I wish I were blind When I see you with your man

Rising from a long night as dark as the grave On a thin chain of next moments and something like faith

Ain't no church bells ringing Ain't no flags unfurled Just me and you and the love we're bringing Into the real world

A silver plate of pearls, my golden child It's all yours, at least for a little while

I got a picture of you in my locket I keep it close to my heart This light shining in my breast Leading me through the dark

The times, they got too clear So you removed all the mirrors Once the family felt secure Now no one's very sure

I've got my finger on the trigger And tonight faith just ain't enough When I look inside my heart There's just devils and dust

I feel my soul waist deep and sinking Into this black river of doubt

Where the road is dark and the seed is sowed Where the gun is cocked and the bullet's cold Where the miles are marked in blood and gold I'll meet you further on up the road

In the garden at Gethsemane He prayed for the life he'd never live He beseeched his Heavenly Father to remove The cup of death from his lips

I love to see the cottonwood blossom In the early spring I love to see the message of love That the bluebird brings But when I see you walkin' with him Down along the strand I wish I were blind When I see you with your man

I hold you in my arms, yeah that's when it starts I seek faith in your kiss and comfort in your heart Taste the seed upon your lips, lay my tongue upon your scars When I look into your eyes and we stand worlds apart

Now's there's tears on the pillow, darling, where we slept And you took my heart when you left Without your sweet kiss my soul is lost, my friend Tell me how do I begin again?

May your strength give us strength May your faith give us faith May your hope give us hope May your love give us love

We took the highway till the road went black We marked 'Truth Or Consequences' on our map

We'll let blood build a bridge over mountains draped in stars I'll meet you on the ridge between these worlds apart We've got this moment now to live, then it's all just dust and dark Let's let love give what it gives

Now no one knows which way love's wheel turns Will we hit it rich Or crash and burn Does fortune wait or just the black hand of fate This love potion's all we've got One toast before it's too late

And the things of the earth, they make their claim That the things of heaven may do the same

God's drifting in heaven, devil's in the mailbox I got dust on my shoes, nothing but teardrops

I got a pound of caviar sitting home on ice I got a fancy foreign car that rides like paradise I got a hundred pretty women knockin' down my door And folks wanna kiss me I ain't even seen before I been around the world and all across the seven seas Been paid a king's ransom for doin' what comes naturally But I'm still the biggest fool, honey, this world ever knew 'Cause the only thing I ain't got, baby, I ain't got you

But love is a power greater than death, just like the songs and stories told And when she built you, brother, she broke the mold

Well, big wheels roll through fields where sunlight streams Meet me in a land of hope and dreams

Alone I limp through town A lost cowboy at sundown Got my monkey on a leash Got my ear tuned to the ground My faith's been torn asunder Tell me is that rolling thunder Or just the sinking sound Of something righteous going under

Men walking 'long the railroad tracks Going someplace, there's no going back Highway patrol choppers coming up over the ridge Hot soup on a campfire under the bridge Shelter line stretching 'round the corner Welcome to the new world order Families sleeping in the cars in the southwest No home, no job, no peace, no rest

Sometimes the truth just ain't enough Or is it too much in times like this Let's throw the truth away, we'll find it in this kiss In your skin upon my skin in the beating of our hearts May the living let us in before the dead tear us apart

So hold me close honey, say you're forever mine And tell me you'll be my lonely valentine

There's spirits above and behind me Faces gone black, eyes burning bright May their precious blood bind me Lord, as I stand before your fiery light

Girl ain't no kindness in the face of strangers Ain't gonna find no miracles here Well you can wait on your blessings darlin' But I got a deal for you right here

Familiar faces around me Laughter fills the air Your loving grace surrounds me Everybody's here Furniture's out on the front porch Music's up loud I dream of you in my arms I lose myself in the crowd

Woke up election day Sky's gunpowder and shades of grey Beneath the dirty sun I whistle my time away Then just about sundown You come walking through town Your boot heels clicking like The barrel of a pistol spinning round

Well, it ain't no secret I've been around a time or two Well, I don't know baby maybe you've been around too Well, there's another dance All you gotta do is say yes And if you're rough and ready for love Honey, I'm tougher than the rest

The fuse is burning Shut out the lights The fuse is burning Come on let me do you right

When I look at myself I don't see The man I wanted to be Somewhere 'long the line I slipped off track I'm caught moving one step up and two steps back

Days just keep on falling Your voice it keeps on calling I'm going to dig right here until I get you back

I was driving through the misty rain Just a-searching for a mystery train Bopping through the wild blue Trying to make a connection with you

It's been a long long drought baby Tonight the rain's pourin' down on our roof Looking for a little bit of God's mercy I found living proof

I always loved the feel of sweat on my shirt Stand back son and let a man work

Well, it's Saturday night You're all dressed up in blue I been watching you awhile Maybe you been watching me, too So somebody ran out Left somebody's heart in a mess Well, if you're looking for love Honey, I'm tougher than the rest

It's been a long time coming, my dear It's been a long time coming, but now it's here

It takes a leap of faith to get things going It takes a leap of faith you gotta show some guts It takes a leap of faith to get things going In your heart you must trust

Fear's a powerful thing, baby It can turn your heart black, you can trust It'll take your God-filled soul And fill it with devils and dust

Well above the stars they crackle and fire A dead man's moon throws seven rings We'd put our ears to the cold grave stones This is the song they'd sing

A letter come blowing in On an ill wind Something about me and you Never seeing one another again And what I knew had come Stars struck deaf and dumb Like when we kissed That taste of blood on your tongue

The sun sets in flames as the city burns Another day gone down as the night turns And I hold you here in my heart As things fall apart

Now the ritual begins 'Neath the wedding garland we meet as strangers The dance floor is alive with beauty Mystery and danger We dance out 'neath the stars' ancient light into the darkening trees Oh won't you baby be in my book of dreams

For you I'll build a house High upon a grassy hill Somewhere across the border Where pain and memory Pain and memory have been stilled There, across the border And sweet blossoms fill the air Pastures of gold and green Roll down into cool clear waters And in your arms beneath open skies I'll kiss the sorrow from your eyes There, across the border

An endless stream of stars shooting by You got your hopes on high

I ain't lookin' for prayers or pity I ain't comin' 'round searchin' for a crutch I just want someone to talk to And a little of that human touch

World peace gonna break out From here on in, we're eating take out

Tonight the moon's looking young but I'm feelin' younger 'Neath a veil of dreams sweet blessings rain Honey I can feel the first breeze of summer And in your love I'm born again

I see you Mary in the garden In the garden of a thousand sighs There's holy pictures of our children Dancing in a sky filled with light

I got a big diamond watch sittin' on my wrist I try to tempt you, baby, but you just resist I made a deal with the devil, babe, I won't deny Until I got you in my arms, I can't be satisfied

And though this world is filled With the grace and beauty of God's hand Oh I wish I were blind When I see you with your man

The sky was falling And streaked with blood I heard you calling me Then you disappeared into the dust

Well, you get so sick of the fighting You lose your fear of the end But I can't lose your memory And the sweet smell of your skin

Love leaves nothin' but shadows and vapor We go on, as is our sad nature, baby

And we're walkin' on the wildside, runnin' down a one way street

You're dancin' with him he's holding you tight I'm standing here waitin' to catch your eye Your hand's on his neck as the music sways All my illusions slip away

If I'm going to live I'll lift my life Darling, to you

The scars we carry remain but the pain slips away it seems Oh won't you baby be in my book of dreams

So listen up, my sonny boy, be ready when they come For they'll be returning sure as the rising sun

I woke up this morning I could barely breathe Just an empty impression In the bed where you used to be I want a kiss from your lips I want an eye for an eye I woke up this morning to an empty sky

The earth, it gave away The sea rose towards the sun I opened up my heart to you It got all damaged and undone

May I feel your arms around me May I feel your blood mix with mine A dream of life comes to me Like a catfish dancing on the end of the line

Now your legs were heaven your breasts were the altar Your body was the holy land You shouted "jump" but my heart faltered You laughted and said "Baby don't you understand?"

I can't sleep so I lay awake listenin' to the sounds of the city below I get dressed and walk the streets but I got nowhere to go

Feelin' like a real man Well you can beat on your chest Hell any monkey can

These days I sit around and laugh At the many rivers I've crossed But on the far banks there's always another forest Where a man can get lost

We struggle here but all our love's in vain Oh these eyes that once filled me with your beauty Now fill me with pain And the light that once entered here Is banished from me And this darkness is all baby that my heart sees

Well if something in the air feels a little unkind Don't worry darlin' It'll slip your mind I'll be your gypsy joker your shotgun rider Baby let me be your soul driver

Well this is a prayer for the souls of the departed Those who've gone and left their babies brokenhearted

I was your big man I was your prince charming King on a white horse hey now look how far I've fallen I tried to trick you yeah but baby you got wise You cut me cut me right right down to size Now I'm just a fool in Gloria's eyes

I been up on sugar mountain, 'cross the sweet blue sea I walked the valley of love and tears and mystery I got run out'a luck and gave myself up for dead And I drank the cool clear waters from Maria's bed

And when that train comes we'll get on board And steal what we can from the treasures treasures of the Lord

A half-drunk beer and your breath in my ear At the Moonlight Motel

American beauty will you be mine Out on this highway counting white lines

And it’s all lies but I’m strung out on the wire In these streets of fire

and it’s one false move and baby the lights go out

And she’s so pretty that you’re lost in the star

And the world is busting at its seams And you’re just a prisoner of your dreams

And you’re in love with all the wonder it brings And every muscle in your body sings as the highway ignites

As you jockey your way through the cars And sit at the light, as it changes to green With your faith in your machine off you scream into the night

At night I wake up with the sheets soaking wet And a freight train running through the middle of my head

At night sometimes it seemed You could hear the whole damn city crying

Barefoot girl sitting on the hood of a Dodge Drinking warm beer in the soft summer rain

Blame it on the lies that killed us, Blame it on the truth that ran us down

But all her pretty dreams are torn, She stares off alone into the night

But I ride by night and I travel in fear That in this darkness I will disappear

But they said, “Johnny, it falls apart so easily, and you know hearts these days are cheap”

But tonight you’re gonna break on through to the inside

But your eyes go blind and your blood runs cold

Calling and calling so cold and alone Shining cross this dark highway where our sins lie unatoned

Dress in the latest rage

Driving all night, chasing some mirage

Eat at your insides and leave you face to face with Streets of fire

Everything dies baby that’s a fact But maybe everything that dies someday comes back

Explode and tear this old town apart Take a knife and cut this pain from my heart

For one kiss, darling I swear everything I would give Cause you’re a walking, talking reason to live

from the dark heart of a dream

From your front porch to my front seat, The door’s open but the ride ain’t free

He tried sellin’ his heart to the hard girls over on Easy Street

I don’t give a damn For the same old played out scenes Baby, I don’t give a damn For just the in-betweens Honey

I hear that whistle whining I feel her kiss in the misty rain And I feel like I’m a rider on a downbound train

I lie awake in the middle of the night Makin’ a list of things that I didn’t do right With you at the top of a long page filled

I see that lonely ribbon in your hair Tell me am I the man for whom you put it there

I took a wrong turn and I just kept going

I walk with angels that have no place

I’m a rolling stone just rolling on Catch me now ‘cause tomorrow I’ll be gone

I’m caught in a cross fire That I don’t understand

I’m twenty five hundred miles from where I wanna be It feels like a hundred years since you’ve been near to me

In this house it’s so easy to set a world on fire, All you need is the need and the money and a soul full of reckless desire

In this house the guilty go unpunished and blood and silence prevail, Here the dead remain nameless, the nameless remain jailed

It’s a long dark highway and a thin white line Connecting baby, your heart to mine, We’re runnin’ now but darlin’ we will stand in time

Just the false taste of paradise and then the fall

Kids flash guitars just like switch-blades

Let your hair down sugar and pick up this beat, Come on and meet me tonight down on Bluebird Street

Like soldiers in the winter’s night with a vow to defend No retreat, baby, no surrender

Lonely-hearted lovers Struggle in dark corners Soul engines running through a night so tender

Man I ain’t getting nowhere I’m just living in a dump like this There’s something happening somewhere baby I just know that there is

My brain takes a vacation just to give my heart more room

My kisses used to turn you inside out

Now the heart’s unsteady, and the night is still All I’ve got’s this melody, and time to kill

Oh-oh come take my hand, We’re riding out tonight to case the promised land, Oh-oh-oh-oh Thunder Road

Outside the street’s on fire In a real death waltz Between what’s flesh and what’s fantasy And the poets down here Don’t write nothing at all They just stand back and let it all be

Radio’s jammed up with talk show stations It’s just talk, talk, talk till you lose your patience

remember last summer drifting through our eyes

Show a little faith there’s magic in the night, You ain’t a beauty but hey you’re alright

So come close my pretty darling and let me feel your disease, Tonight I’ll have you naked and crawling at the end of my leash

So you fell for some jerk who was tall, dark and handsome Then he kidnapped your heart and now he’s holdin’ it for ransom

Sometimes it’s like someone took a knife, baby, edgy and dull And cut a six-inch valley through the middle of my skull

Standing in that doorway like a dream

Talk about a dream Try to make it real You wake up in the night With a fear so real

That secret pact you made Back when her love could save you From the bitterness

That thunder in your heart At night when you’re kneeling in the dark It says you’re never gonna leave her But there’s this angel in her eyes That tells such desperate lies And all you want to do is believe her

The book of love holds its rules Disobeyed by fools

The hungry and the hunted Explode into rock'n'roll bands That face off against each other out in the street Down in Jungleland

The rat traps filled with soul crusaders, The circuits lined and jammed with chromed invaders

The screen door slams, Mary’s dress waves Like a vision, she dances across the porch As the radio plays Roy Orbison singing for the lonely, Hey that’s me and I want you only

The teenage tramps in skin-tight pants do the E Street dance

There were ghosts in the eyes Of all the boys you sent away, They haunt this dusty beach road In the skeleton frames of burned-out Chevrolets.

There’s a darkness on the edge of town

there’s a joke here somewhere and it’s on me

There’s a war outside still raging You say it ain’t ours anymore to win

Theres a sadness hidden in that pretty face, a sadness all her own, from which no man can keep Candy safe

These days you don’t wait on Romeo’s you wait on that welfare check

They say in the end true love prevails But in the end true love can’t be no fairytale

They say you gotta stay hungry hey baby I’m just about starving tonight

They scream your name at night in the street, Your graduation gown lies in rags at their feet, And in the lonely cool before dawn, You hear their engines roaring on, When you get to the porch they’re gone On the wind

True love is broken and your tears are fallin’ faster You’re sufferin’ from a pain in your heart or some other natural disaster

Two hearts are better than one, Two hearts girl get the job done

Waiting for the bells that ring In the deep heart of the night

Waste your summer praying in vain, For a saviour to rise from these streets

We got married, and swore we’d never part Then little by little we drifted from each other’s hearts

We got one last chance to make it real, To trade in these wings on some wheels, Climb in back, Heaven’s waiting down on the tracks

We kiss, my hearts pumpin to my brain the blood rushes in my veins, when I touch Candys lips, We go driving, driving deep into the night, I go driving deep into the light, in Candys eyes

We shut ‘em up and than we shut ‘em down

we’re gonna ride to the sea And wash these sins off our hands.

Well I saw you last night down on the avenue Your face was in the shadows but I knew that it was you You were standin’ in the doorway out of the rain You didn’t answer when I called out your name You just turned, and then you looked away like just another stranger waitin’ to get blown away

Well the night’s busting open, These two lanes will take us anywhere

Well, everybody’s got a secret, Sonny, Something that they just can’t face, Some folks spend their whole lives trying to keep it, They carry it with them every step that they take.

Well, I believe in the love that you gave me I believe in the faith that can save me

Where we swore forever friends On the backstreets until the end

With a love so hard and filled with defeat

With her long hair falling And her eyes that shine like a midnight sun Oh she’s the one

Words were passed in a shotgun blast

You can hide 'neath your covers, And study your pain, Make crosses from your lovers, Throw roses in the rain

You can’t judge an apple by looking at a tree, You can’t judge honey by looking at the bee, You can’t judge a daughter by looking at the mother, You can’t judge a book by looking at the cover

You don’t have to call me lieutenant, Rosie, and I don’t want to be your son

You end up like a dog that’s been beat too much Till you spend half your life just covering up

You inherit the sins, you inherit the flames, Adam raised a Cain

You know it’s never over, it’s relentless as the rain, Daddy worked his whole life, for nothing but the pain

You never smile girl, you never speak You just walk on by, darlin’, week after week

You pulled my jacket off and as the drummer counted four You grabbed my hand and pulled me out on the floor You just stood there and held me, then you started dancin’ slow And as I pulled you tighter I swore I’d never let you go

You sit and wonder just who’s gonna stop the rain Who’ll ease the sadness, who’s gonna quiet the pain

You wake up and you’re dying you don’t even know what from

You walk cool, but darlin’, can you walk the

You walk too far, you walk away Hello sunshine, won’t you stay

I thought I knew just who I was And what I’d do but I was wrong One minute you’re here Next minute you’re gone

Footsteps cracklin’ on a gravel road Stars vanish in a sky as black as stone

In the afternoon 'neath the summer sun We’d lie by the lake till the evening comes I run my fingers through your sun-streaked hair Baby, that’s the power of prayer

It’s a fixed game without any rules An empty table on a ship of fools I’m holding hearts, I’ll play the pair Darling, it’s just the power of prayer

I’m holding hearts, I’ll play the pair I’m goin’ all in 'cause I don’t care

I’m reaching for heaven, we’ll make it there

Zero’s my number, time is my hunter I wanted you to heal me but instead you set me on fire We were out over the borders, I washed you in holy water We whispered our black prayers and rose up in flames Take me on your burnin’ train

White sun burnin’, black wings beatin’

With our shared faith Rising dark and decayed Take me and shake me from this mortal cage

On your bed of thorns, I brought you shining gifts Wiped the sweat from your brow and I touched your lips Sheets stained with sweat, outside the endless rain Darlin’, I’m blessed in your blood and marked by Cain

Tried to summon all that my heart finds true And send it in my letter to you

Things I found out through hard times and good I wrote 'em all out in ink and blood Dug deep in my soul and signed my name true And sent it in my letter to you

I took all the sunshine and rain All my happiness and all my pain The dark evening stars and the morning sky of blue And I sent it in my letter to you

There’s a light on yonder mountain And it’s calling me to shine There’s a girl over by the water fountain And she’s asking to be mine

Well sweet Virgin Mary runs the Holy Grail saloon Well for a nickel she’ll give you whiskey and a personally blessed balloon

And the Holy Ghost is the host with the most, he runs the burlesque show Where they’ll let you in for free and they hit you when you go

Mary serving Mass on Sunday and she sells her body on Monday To the bootlegger who paid the highest price He don’t know he got stuck with a loser, she’s a stone junkie what’s more she’s a user She’s only been made once or twice by some kind of magic

If Jesus was a sheriff and I were a priest If my lady was an heiress and my Mama was a thief And Papa rode shotgun on the Fargo line There’s still too many outlaws trying to work the same line

Well things ain’t been the same in heaven since Big Bad Bobby came to town He’s been known to down eleven, then ask for another round

Me I’ve got scabs on my knees from kneeling way too long It’s about time I played the man, took a stand where I belong

And I forget about the old friends and the old times There’s just too many new boys trying to work the same line

Hands raised to Yahweh to bring the rain down He comes crawlin’ 'cross the dry fields like a dark shroud

Rainmaker, a little faith for hire Rainmaker, the house is on fire Rainmaker, take everything you have Sometimes folks need to believe in something so bad, so bad,

Rainmaker says white’s black and black’s white Says night’s day and day’s night Says close your eyes and go to sleep now I’m in a burnin’ field unloadin’ buckshot into low clouds

The blood moon shines across the vale Bells ring out through churches and jails I tally my wounds and count the scars Here in the house of a thousand guitars

The criminal clown has stolen the throne He steals what he can never own May the truth ring out from every small-town bar We’ll light up the house of a thousand guitars

Here the bitter and the bored Wake in search of the lost chord That’ll band us together for as long as there’s stars Here in the house of a thousand guitars

So wake and shake off your troubles, my friend We’ll go where the music never ends From the stadiums to the small-town bars We’ll light up the house of a thousand guitars

The road is long and seeming without end The days go on, I remember you my friend And though you’re gone and my heart’s been emptied it seems I’ll see you in my dreams

I’ll see you in my dreams when all our summers have come to an end I’ll see you in my dreams, we’ll meet and live and laugh again I’ll see you in my dreams, yeah around the river bend For death is not the end

Well how many wasted have I seen signed “Hollywood or bust” And left to ride the ever ghostly Arizona gusts Cheerleader tramps and kids with big amps sounding in the void High society vamps, ex-heavyweight champs mistaking soot for soil

Well sons they search for fathers, but the fathers are all gone The lost souls search for saviors, but saviors don’t last long

Those aimless questless renegade brats who live their lives in song They run the length of a candle, with a goodnight whisper and they’re gone

Believe me my good Linda, the aurora will shine the way

Those orphans jumped on silver mountains lost in celestial alleyways They wait for that old tramp Dog Man Moses, he takes in all the strays

Now don’t you grow on empty legends or lonely cradle songs Billy the Kid was just a bowery boy who made a living twirling his guns

The night she’s long and lanky and she speaks in a mother tongue She lullabies the refugees with amplifier’s hum

I hear the sound of your guitar Comin’ in from the mystic far Stone and the gravel in your voice Come in my dreams and I rejoice

It’s your ghost Moving through the night Spirit filled with light

Count the band in then kick into overdrive By the end of the set we leave no one alive

I shoulder your Les Paul and finger the fretboard I make my vows to those who’ve come before I turn up the volume, let the spirits be my guide Meet you brother and sister on the other side

All the redemption I can offer girl Is beneath this dirty hood

#bruce springsteen #springsteen

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descendantofthesparrow · 3 years

Text

Interlude - Rewrite POYW - Harry Hook x reader - Part 8 - apartment hunting and application delivery

-five months later (June 2019)-

Harry looked up from the paper that showed the address of the apartment and whistled, it was bigger than he thought it was going to be.

The apartment he had selected to view was near the ocean but still close enough to Auradon city and the forest Evie was looking at for her starter castle so they, the vks, could still hang out at a moment's notice/ break in to bother their friends.

The apartment was also less of an apartment complex and just a house that was listed as an apartment, Ben had suggested it to him after Harry had mentioned looking for places to live after graduating with (y/n).

“Harry Hook I presume?” Harry looked over his shoulder to see a well-dressed middle-aged man, taking off his sunglasses and holding out his hand towards Harry, a smile on his lips “I’m Dabier Warren, a pleasure to meet you” Harry turned and gripped his hand firmly, holding down the nervous feeling in his gut.

“Aye, that would be meh” Harry nodded, pulling back his hand as Dabier nodded and pulled back, pulling out a file and opening it, looking over the house quickly.

“So you’re interested in renting? Buying?” Harry shrugged and looked back down at the paper which detailed the apartment/house. “I’m lookin’ fer a place for my girlfriend an’ I ta live after we graduate, and renting or buying depends on the cost I guess…I thought it was just fer rent though?” Dabier nodded and walked over to the plant bed at the front of the house, kneeling down and unlocking a small green box.

“It was going to be originally, but the owners decided that if someone was willing to buy it, they would go for it. Let's get started then, I assume you have looked over the prices?” Harry nodded, following Dabier as he took the house key out of the green box and walked up to the front door, unlocking it and letting Harry step inside. “All right then, so the house has 1,500 square feet, and has a kitchen, breakfast nook, living room, two bedrooms, a master bedroom, and a normal bedroom, one and a half bathrooms” Harry raised his brow at that but kept quiet “You’ve seen the front yard and it has a balcony out back to see the ocean view and an open backyard.”

Dabier led Harry into the living room just to the left of the main hallway, Harry let out a low whistle, the living room was just as big as his old apartment back on the isle. He walked down the steps into the living room and walked over to the double doors that faced the ocean.

Dabier walked over to him and unlocked the doors, stepping outside and showing Harry the backyard, the grass was green and soft just off a small porch that was shaded with the master bedroom balcony.

Dabier and Harry walked back inside and Dabier then showed him the kitchen, it wasn’t a large kitchen, but it was still decent, in the corner to the left of the doorway was a little breakfast nook and to the right was the rest of the kitchen, against the wall was a black marble counter with white painted cabinets handing over it, a silver metal sink, a dishwasher, a white fridge, and stovetop oven.

Harry nodded as Dabier explained the room and its appliances, then followed the retailer out of the room as Dabier led him to the first bathroom, which held just a sink, toilet, and shower. It was nice, but clearly just a guest bathroom.

So far, Harry liked the house, an ocean view, a good-sized kitchen for just two people-the kitchen was bigger than his isle kitchen so he had no complaints there-and as Dabier led Harry to the master bedroom, Harry almost tossed his paycheck at him.

The master bedroom was about half the size of the living room, with double doors leading to the balcony with the prime ocean view, the bed at the moment was in the middle of the room just under the window, and the master bathroom was to the left of the doorway.

Harry nodded at the bathroom, it had white tiles with an overhead showerhead and a good-sized bathtub, the sink had wood-painted cabinets with a porcelain sink and black facet.

Harry and Dabier made one more walk around the house and soon they were both back outside, Harry staring at the house with his arms crossed, tapping his foot erratically as he thought about his options.

He had been to two other apartments, though they were more actual apartments compared to the house he had just seen. The first two were not suggested by Ben, they were much closer to the city and honestly a bit too small for even just Harry.

“So what do you think?” Dabier locked the house key back up and stepped in front of Harry, nodding back towards the house “You gonna go for it?”

“Aye, I think I will” Harry muttered, taking back out the file and looking over the prices of both the rent and the newly written price of the mortgage if Harry bought the house.

Dabier smiled and nodded, handing Harry the rental application along with telling him how to make an offer on the house to buy it if Harry wanted to.

Harry looked over the price the owners had stated and smirked, thanks to Evie hiring him as a model almost two years ago, he had plenty of money to buy it.

He made his offer.

You sat in Ben's office, going through the last few drafts of the application form with Evie and Ben, it was all so close, it was only just more than a month away from now.

Soon there would be more vks in Auradon and then many more to come. “Okay,” Ben sighed, crossing out a few lines on the applications and leaning back in his chair “I don’t want the application to be more than one page, so here's my final draft offer” he showed you and Evie his final draft selection.

The page had the boxes for the vk to fill out their information, with a large block of lines for the essay to be written, something you all thought was unnecessary, since “safety away from parents/the isle” was good enough on its own, but once again the council was a bitch so Ben had to deal with it. Ben flipped over the paper and showed the top of the back, where the parent/guardian would sign their permission for the vk to leave the isle if they were underage. (originally it was going to be parental permission but Mal made a point to say that some kids didn’t have parents to claim them, so it was switched to guardian)

“Well I think that’s good” you sighed, tossing your pile of drafts to the side and gesturing to Ben's “short sweet, easy to understand. Let's go with that one” Evie nodded in agreement, dropping her pen and rubbing her face, yawning a bit.

“Agreed, I’m so done with all this for now” Ben laughed a bit at Evie and set down the draft, grabbing a stamp and hitting it on the top of the page, now marked with bold red letters that read ‘approved’

“Well, that’s it….we’re done” Ben sighed, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his face “the application has been selected, the shelter is finished, the cps has been established. All that’s left to do is print, send, pick up, and choose.”

You and Evie cheered, slumping in your seats as sleep clawed at your mind and eyes. Ben let out a tired ‘woo’ before hitting his head against the headrest of his chair, taking a deep breath and blowing a raspberry as he exhaled.

You perked up slightly as someone knocked on Ben's door, Ben telling them to come in. You smiled as Harry stepped through the now open door and walked towards you, leaning on the armrest and smiling down at you “Hello darlin’ yeh done yet?” you hummed and nodded, giving a tired ‘yeee’ as Harry lifted you into his arms, one arm under your knees and the other cradling your back and cupping your shoulder. “Long day eh? Night yeh two” Ben and Evie waved Harry off and bid the two of you goodnight as Harry walked out of Ben’s office, closing the door with his foot as he did. “Come on darlin, let's get yeh ta bed” Harry mumbled, smiling as you lifted your head and buried it into his neck, arms wrapping around it a moment later.

Harry carefully opened your dorm room door and pushed it open with his foot, stepping inside and kicking it closed. He walked over to your bed and set you down, walking over to your dresser as you sat up and took off your boots and socks.

He pulled open the third drawer and pulled out one of his shirts you had stolen a good year back, then kneeling and pulling open the bottom drawer, taking out the black sweatpants that were also his that you had stolen a while ago. He smiled, half of your wardrobe was his, and it filled his head and heart with a fuzzy feeling knowing you liked wearing his clothes.

He stood and turned, tossing the shirt and pants at you, covering his eyes with his hand as he saw you start to take off your shirt and bra. “Harry” you chuckled, tossing the shirt into the hamper as you chucked your bra onto the ‘not dirty but worn’ chair in the corner of your room “It's not like you haven’t seen them before”

Harry bit his lip, still keeping his hands over his eyes. The two of you had...experimented with sex around your 18th birthday after you told him about your interest in at least trying it out, now Harry hadn’t been a virgin for years (something which still pissed you off to this day, I mean he lost it when he was fucking 9. It wasn’t fair to him) but it was the first time he had reciprocated those type of feelings back towards the person showing interest.

And even almost a year after your first time together, Harry still got flustered around the idea and image of you being undressed. “I-I dinne know if yeh were okay with meh lookin’” Harry mumbled, his tense arm relaxing a bit as you laughed softly and chucked your pants at him gently, the clothing landing at his feet.

“Harry, you can look, I don’t mind” you shook your head with a smile as Harry peeked through his fingers, his cheeks and ears red as he looked at you. You smiled again and shoved on his shirt, pulling on the sweatpants a moment later and standing, walking over to Harry and wrapping your arms around his waist “This is why I said yes”

Harry dropped his hand and rose his brow in confusion, wondering what you meant “Said yes ta wha’?” Harry asked, curling his arms around you and tilting his head. You tilted your head up and kissed Harry’s Adam’s apple, giggling as he swallowed harshly in reaction.

“This is why I said yes to you asking if I would be open to the idea of marrying you” you held in your laughter as Harry’s face lit up, curling in on himself in slight embarrassment. “you respect me, and my boundaries, even if I never stated them, you listen to me, and you take care of me. You are genuinely the only person I could ever see myself marrying and I love you so much” you let out a short laugh as Harry moved his face into your neck to hide, his arms wrapping tighter around you “whenever you ask me, don’t doubt I will say yes because I will”

Harry mumbled something into your neck, pulling away slightly as you hummed in confusion “I love yeh too” Harry muttered, closing his eyes as you pulled away from him and pressed your lips to his, wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling him into you.

You pulled away a moment later and pressed another kiss to his jaw, patting his chest and nodding towards the door “it’s late, go get some sleep” Harry glanced towards the door, then to you, then towards your bed, and nodded, kissing the top of your head and walking out of your room, leaving you alone.

You yawned and turned off your desk light, turning on the fairy lights hanging around your room, illuminating it in a soft yellow glow. You slipped into bed, hugging the shark plush Harry had bought you for your birthday two years ago.

A few minutes later, as you began to drift to sleep, your door opened again, then closed and was locked, quiet footsteps walking toward you. Harry pulled the sheets back and slipped in behind you, curling his arms around you and pulling you into his chest, molding you into the curve of his body.

“g’night Harry” you mumbled, Harry’s warmth lulling you to sleep as Harry buried his face in your hair.

“g’night meh love” he mumbled back, the two of you drifting off to sleep after the long day you both had.

-one week later-

You slowed your bike to a stop, Harry and Carlos doing the same as Jay pulled up with the car filled with application boxes into the old garage near the wharf, the tunnel leading to Uma’s ship echoing with the sound of the crew and isle residents going about their day.

“Welp” Carlos took off his helmet, ruffing his curly hair as he looked around the not as musty-smelling garage as he dismounted his bike “We’re here… let's get those applications to their spots.” You and Harry nodded, taking off your helmets and dismounting your bikes, throwing the keys and helmets into the limo and helping Jay and Gil get the six large boxes filled with papers out of the trunk, carrying them out of the old garage and first heading to the main square (which was now called Mal’s court) where the first drop off location was.

As you passed through the alleyways that lead to the main square, many kids and teens, along with some adults, stared at you, almost disbelieving as they read the side of the box.

-VK DAY APPLICATIONS-

You held down a smile as two children whispered to each other and pointed at the box, a whole group trailing after the five of you as you finally made it to the drop-off point. Kimmy, one of Harriet's crew members, stood exactly where the point was, nodding as Gil stepped up to her and handed her one of the boxes he held. She took it and spun on her heel, heading off to the spot the crew had chosen to make the pick-up location for the isle residents to get their applications and turn them back in when they finished. The group of kids dodged through your legs and bodies as they raced after Kimmy to grab an application.

You let out a soft sigh of relief, glad that the kids on the isle did seem to be interested in going to Auradon, for some reason you had feared they wouldn’t go for it, but it seemed it was all for naught, some teens and young adults following the kids to also grab an application.

You and Harry split off from Gil, Jay, and Carlos, the boys going to drop off the boxes at the schools while you and Harry went to the wharf, one box would be dropped off at Harriet's old ship, the scarlet maiden, and the other at the main area of the docks just off the market.

You and Xiaohui shared a nod as you walked up the gangplank to the ship, handing off the box “A set of guards will be back on the first of July to collect the applications, and then they’ll come back every Monday to collect any that didn’t get turned in the first round.” Xiaohui nodded at your explanation, turning and handing the box to Devin who took it and disappeared below deck.

“Sounds good” Xiaohui hummed, crossing her arms and tilting her head at you and Harry “how long do you think it'll be before the first round gets picked?”

“We’re looking at early August, probably the 2nd at best” Harry answered for you, shifting the box in his arms again. “We’re announcing VK day after graduation, jus’ lotta stuff righ’ now” Xiaohui nodded, taking a step back and nodding towards the rest of the wharf.

“Well, get going, there's a lot of kids who’ve been waiting for today on Its own, don’t wanna make ‘em wait longer” you and Harry nodded, walking off the ship and walking to the main area of the docks to drop off Harry’s box.

“Hard to believe we graduate this month” you muttered, smiling as Harry laughed and shook his head.

“Aye, and three years ago I thought I would never even leave the isle, now look at meh, i’m graduating from Auradon prep, i’m a model, I’ve got an amazing girlfriend, and meh dad will never bother meh again” he smiled at you, his eyes bright “I never thought this would happen but I’m glad It did, I’m glad I met yeh” Harry chuckled as you bit your lip and turned your chin into your chest, feeling your face heat up at Harry's ‘flirting’

Before Harry would say anything more, you arrived at the main area of the docks, pirate teens and kids alike staring wide-eyed as Harry set the box on the table where another one of Harriet's crew stood, his arms crossed as he watched Harry move back to your side.

“Pick up for Applications start July 1st, and continue every Monday after that” the male nodded, brushing back his dark red hair and opening the box, beginning to take out the papers and set them in stacks on the table, vks already going up to take the papers.

You waved at the small, who seemed probably no older than 5 years old, girl who stared starry-eyed at you and Harry, her purple and brown hat slipping over her face as she watched you and Harry walk away back towards the limo to wait for the boys to be finished.

About an hour later, as you and Harry sat against your bikes waiting for the boys, they finally returned, Carlos having a wide grin on his face “what did you do?” you asked, rising your brow as Carlos laughed loudly.

“I flipped off my mom~” Carlos sang, grabbing his helmet from the limo and putting it on, grabbing his keys and climbing onto his bike as you and Harry burst into laughter “I've never seen her that mad! And I tripped her when she tried to hit me”

“Good boy!” Harry cackled, patting Carlos’ helmet as he passed by him to grab both of your helmets and keys. “Proud of yeh”

“Same!” Jay called, climbing into the driver's seat as Gil hopped into the passenger's side. “She ran off screaming after she landed in mud!”

Harry snorted beneath his helmet and revved his bike, waiting for Jay to pull out of the garage before he, Carlos, and you followed after them, speeding through the barrier back towards Auradon.

‘Mission success, only a month and a half till vk day’ you thought, speeding off the bridge and taking the road back towards the dorms to meet up with Harry's sisters for some ‘family bonding’ as CJ called it. You all knew she just meant attempting to ‘murder’ you all with paintballs when you went paintballing with the Hook and Smee siblings.

Ben stared down at his class ring, twisting it between his fingers as he remembered when Mal gave it back to him after they agreed to break up until they were both ready again. He sighed, leaning on his hand and staring off at nothing, even three years after they had broken up, his chest still filled with a fuzzy feeling and butterflies when he looked at her, the intense want to just grab her face and kiss her senseless when she scrunched her nose or stuck her tongue out at him.

But he didn’t want to do anything until he knew they were both ready, last time she had love spelled him for the wand, and after he had unknowingly broken it at the lake, then he had falsely thought Mal had spelled him because she liked him, and from then their relationship was built on lies and spells, Mal not telling him about her original intentions until after their break up.

He knew he loved her, but he also knew that unless they truly started over their relationship wouldn’t be good for either of them. This time they would have to take it slow, with no lies, no expectations of intense change, proper communication, no secrets (though Ben did realize that there were things that he nor Mal were obligated to tell each other if they didn’t want to) and just…being better to each other than they were before.

Ben perked up as someone knocked on his dorm office door and stood, walking over and opening it, surprised to see Mal standing there, rubbing her arm and staring at the floor, her cheeks and ears bright red “Mal?” Ben rasped, glancing at the clock, it was almost curfew “What is it? Is something wrong?” she shook her head, peering up at him.

“No, um…can I come in? I-I want to ask you something” Ben tilted his head and nodded, letting her into the room and closing the door, watching as Mal started to pace around the room, messing with her fingers and muttering to herself.

“Mal, is something wrong?” Ben asked again, a more stern tone to his voice as Mal looked at him with wide eyes.

“No!” she shook her head widely, her plum hair fanning around her, reliving Ben a bit as she took a deep breath and shook her head again “No, nothing’s wrong... it's just…I-you-me” Mal huffed and ruffled her hair, biting her lip and looking to her feet “I've never-shit-fuck” Mal buried her face in her hands and took a deep breath. She took them away and looked ben right in the eye “can we start over?”

Ben blinked in surprise; out of everything he hadn’t expected that. “St-start over how?” Ben asked, wanting to make sure he knew exactly what Mal was referring to, he didn’t want to assume she wanted to date again.

“Can we start over with” she gestured between the two of them “Us? Like…us together? I-I want to try again, for real this time, no magic, no fake feelings, no lies. Just…us”

Ben couldn’t help the smile growing on his face as he felt his cheeks heat up, he took a step towards Mal and grabbed her hands, pressing a kiss to her knuckles as she squeaked “I would like to try again, with us, and this time, we’ll take it slow” Mal interrupted, her eyes sparkling.

“and communicate properly!” Ben laughed and nodded, bringing her hands down between them and holding them tightly.

“no lies”

“no magic”

“no false feelings” Ben finished, squeezing Mal's hands and grinning “we’ll do it right this time, okay? No moving forward unless we both know we're comfortable, no overstepping boundaries, no changing ourselves or trying to force change in the other.”

“Unless it's toxic!” Mal interrupted again, giving a shy grin to Ben as he laughed “yeah, there are definitely some things about me that I still have to fix, but I promise, I’ll actually work on them, and not just ignore it. Please call me out when I hurt your feelings, please call me out when I fuck up, I want us to work, I love you Ben, and I really want to be with you” Ben bit his lip as the butterflies in his gut flew everywhere, his head fuzzy with love.

“I love you too Mal, and I want to be with you too” Mal beamed and wrapped her arms around Ben's waist, pulling him into a hug. Ben wrapped his arms around her shoulder and squeezed her tightly, resting his head on hers.

“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” Ben whispered, laughing a bit as Mal stubbornly nodded against his chest.

“yes, I even got confirmation from Lia that I was ready to start being in a relationship again, with you, and as long as I continue to better myself, I’ll be good…pun intended” Ben snorted and shook his head. He pulled back and kissed Mal’s forehead, smiling as he pulled back further and saw her eyes closed, a smile on her face.

“Alright, then let's do this. Mal-“ Mal reached up and covered his mouth, laughing as he gave her a look of confusion.

“Let me do it this time” Ben rolled his eyes and smiled against Mal's palm. “Ben?” he hummed against her palm, laughing as she pulled it off and smacked his chest “Will you be my boyfriend?”

“hmmmm” Ben took a step back tapping his chin and looking up at the ceiling “let me think~”

“Ben!!” Mal whined, crossing her arms, an amused smile on her lips. Ben laughed and cupped her face, pecking her lips quickly and enjoying the red spreading across her cheeks and ears.

“Yes”

Evie squealed and slammed into Mal as she returned to their shared dorm room that night, picking Mal up with surprising strength and spinning her around “E-Evie!!” Mal yelped, her arms trapped at her side and her head spinning as Evie danced about their room “I’m gonna be sick!”

Evie snorted at Mal's dramatics and dropped her on Mal's bed, flopping next to her and leaning on her hands, waiting for Mal to get ahold of herself again before bombarding her with questions.

“Sooo~ how’d you do it? Did he say yes? Did you kiss?!”

Mal pouted at her friend and hit her with a pillow, to which Evie grabbed and chucked it across the room, the pillow hitting against the glass of lizard Maleficent’s terrarium, the purple, and black lizard hissing and hiding away in its new castle that was modeled after her old one.

“Spill!”

“Okay okay! So yesterday I realized I still really really liked Ben and I wanted to be with him…”

-the camera pans away from the girls, zooming out of the dorm room and panning to the isle, where the barrier shimmers under the moonlight-

-end of part 8-

Part 8~ Harry found an apartment/house for yall to be in, the applications got sent and are ready to be filled out, and Bal is officially back together~ (and hopefully I can write them in a way that’s actually healthy than * gestures to D2/3* whatever that was) hope yall liked this part! two more to go and then the little oneshot showing (y/n) and Harrys relationship development and then its only Finale!!!!!!!!!!! Part 9 next week!!! also if any of you caught that reference i made to a fellow descendants creator you get a cookie.

permtaglist

@queer-cosette @sephiralorange @lunanight2012

@daughter-of-the-stars11 @musicarose @random-thoughts-003

@remembered-license @rintheemolion @verboetoperee

@imtryingthisout @thecaptainsgingersnap @jatp-rules-my-life

oh! also @darkprinceofdarkness i know you like Bal so you might like this part (i know you’ve already kinda read this part since i asked you for your opinion on discord but...yep heh)

#Descendents #descendants #disney descendants #harry hook descendants #harry hook x reader #harry hook imagine #harry hook #interlude #rewrite #shuffle playlist #finale

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justsomefluff · 5 years

Text

ATEEZ Reaction to You Falling Asleep in the Car

Summary: You are riding back from dinner with your boyfriend and can’t seem to keep your eyes open. Here’s how he reacts.

A/N: So, I did a little lookin’ over the responses to my last writings and the more informal style seemed to get the best results. That’s fun for me because I get to add more of myself into my writing I feel. So, if you don’t want all of my stuff to be like that, send in a request and let me know how you want me to do a particular fic.

Hongjoong:

Ok so Joongie

This fool doesn’t even notice when your head drops onto his shoulder

Why?

Homie is dead asleep too

But the driver gently calls to him

Like we here kiddo hand over the money

And he’s like oh alright

Joong only notices that you’re asleep when he goes to pay and

Cant?? Move?? His arm??

So he gets smushy and he's like oh nu

Doesn’t want to wake you up

Wants to be cute and carry you but he has to pay too and AGH

Stress

So eventually he has to wake you up

He just kinda wiggles in his seat until the movement wakes you up

And then you wake up embarrassed because the driver is staring at both of you like what fresh hell

When Hongjoong finally pays you can’t get out of the car fast enough

He’s whining all the way to your apartment about how he didn’t want to wake you up and boohoo

You’re like okay, Wiggles

But both of you just crash onto the couch once you’re inside and all is forgiven

Seonghwa:

(LOOK AT THE MELANIN HERE WOOOOO)

ok this man

I feel like he’s a closest romantic

so when you’re awake he’s like ew no im not soft who said that??

but he lie

if you fall asleep on him in the car he notices right away

because he was staring at you already

Creep

and he’s all googoo eyed and everything and smiling super wide

when you arrive at your destination that’s when the romantic side slips out a lil bit

he’s like ok obviously we are gonna carry them

you’re his babie

so he slides his arms around you

Hug and roll technique from FRIENDS kinda deal

tries to make a super natural transition from car to his arms

king pulls it off

you stay asleep until you’re inside and he’s like

SUCCESS

and he’s all smug and proud of himself when he’s tucking you into bed

but lil does he know

you were awake the whole time

pretend to be asleep so your mom will carry you to bed kinda vibe

Momma Hwa or boyfriend Hwa? you can decide

So either way once he’s got you all bundled in the blankets

you’re soft and sleepy but smiling because

YOU CAUGHT HIM

he’s romantic after all

Yunho:

big squishy is so in love with you stop

he’s giggling at the way your face is smushed against the window

How can you sleep like that???

so he’s taking pictures of you, that you will hate if you ever find out he took them

and when you get wherever you’re going

he’s not confident that he won't hurt the both of you if he tries to carry you without you waking up

so he just pushes his nose into your cheeks and just gives Eskimo kissies until you wake up giggling

you have to push him off of you because he just can't stop

Yunnie really can’t get enough of you I mean seriously

seeing you sleepy always makes him soft and he shall remain this way for the rest of the time you’re together

and probably a little longer after you part

so for the rest of your time together he’s all goofy smiles and starry eyes

absolutely insistent on being attached to you 100% of the time

whether its cuddles if you’re at home

or just constant hugs

like homeboy won't let you WALK

either way you love it and you can’t lie

love him please

Yeosang:

ok I know this is a fluffy reaction but here comes some crack

Yeosang is gonna be straight up annoying

he’s poking your cheeks to wake you up

does not care how cute you are he just can’t resist bothering you

he cannot express adoration like the rest of us okay

so he’s gonna torture you instead

he’s taking videos of you drooling on him and making fun of you the whole time

will not let you live it down later on

he does keep any and all videos like that private though because you’re still his baby and he doesn't want you to be too embarrassed

but he definitely wants to make you flustered

loves to tease you

so you’re dosing off in the car and Sangie is like !!!!

perfect time to strike

so thats when he starts making fun of you and not letting you sleep

but if you’re pouty enough then he might start to feel bad

to make it up to you he will pull your head back down to his shoulder and stroke your hair the rest of the car ride

gives you little kisses on the top of your head

but when you fall asleep again he just opens his phone and laughs at all the dumb videos he took of you

San:

you’re Yunho

if you get sleepy he will immediately assume it’s time for cuddles

he does not care that you are in the back of a taxi

he does not care that the driver is low-key staring at the two of you, hoping nothing nasty starts up

I digress

Sannie notices that your eyelids are drooping and your head is bobbing up and down as you fight to stay awake

Cue soft San

he gently pulls you into a hug

highboy uncomfortable since you’re in a cab, and seated

but you’re too tired and he’s too soft

so neither of you care

San’s giving you feather-light kisses all along your cheek and temple

maybe even gives you a couple neck kisses to hear you whine at him

nuzzling x10000000000000

rubbing his nose in your hair, along your jaw, around your ears, down your neck

anywhere he can reach really

makes you tingly and happy and he knows it

so you get a lil giggly

kinda sleep-drunk and then he’s love-drunk

He’s a cheeseball but he knows how to make you feel loved so who cares

Mingi:

he’s kinda oblivious to you falling asleep

but if you fall onto him he’s SO AWKWARD

kinda wheezy, embarrassed laughter

you just made his heart swell a lil too fast is all

give him a minute to recover, okay?

once he is finally back to the land of the living

he’s gonna smile so wide

something about seeing you sleep makes him so confident in your relationship

sleeping is so vulnerable and he loves that you trust him enough to share that vulnerability with him like this

and then he’s rubbing his cheek on the top of your head

and wrapping an arm around you to keep you close and warm

so attentive to you

rubbing your arm if he thinks you feel cold

making sure you’re in a comfortable position

doesn’t want you to wake up stiff or anything

will gently move you if your neck is bent at an awkward angle

if he's sleepy too, he’ll press as close to you as he can

kinda difficult to do with seatbelts on but he’s gonna make it work believe me

and then he just passes out

and we all know how he gets when he’s tired so you end up being the one to drag him inside later on

Wooyoung:

Wooyoungie

baby

I feel like his energy is so high that if you want to sleep in the car with him, he’s gonna have to be sleepy too

so since both of you are sleepy

you’re smushed together in the backseat, heads resting on top of each other

and I feel like he wants kisses a lot when he’s sleepy

you’re both on the verge of sleep but he’s like waittt

“it’s nap time Wooyoungie”

“kiss first”

kisses you super soft

fluffy lips I can't

he kisses you so soft and deep

way too intimate a moment for the backseat of a stranger’s car

but whatever

kisses you like 25 times

super slow, and when you finally pull away he’s whining anyway bc

“wanted more”

but sleep is calling and you just can't

he ends up falling asleep first anyway

kinda pouty, but he’s happy overall because he got his kisses

even if it was fewer kisses than he wanted

Jongho:

Jongho highkey does not know what to do when you fall asleep on him

Will definitely decide to carry you inside and not wake you up

makes that decision before you even get close to your destination

but he’s a prince so he always thinks ahead

strokes your hair a lot and smiles super soft

hums a little to himself

gives you a couple kisses here and there because he just cant help himself

honestly really struggles with the fact that you both aren't cuddled up in bed or on the couch or something

wants cuddles so bad

but he’s kinda reserved so he’s too shy to smush himself against you with the driver right there

shy about PDA in general, but sleep is even more special to him I think

eventually finds a compromise to keep himself happy until you're home

just laces his fingers with your and kisses your knuckles

it’s bread crumbs, I know, but he’s too shy to do more

itching to get where youre going

the quicker you get there, the quicker the day is over and he can cuddle the living daylights out of you until he’s satisfied

#choi jongho #jung wooyoung #song mingi #choi san #kang yeosang #jeong yunho #park seonghwa #kim hongjoong #ateez #ateez reactions #ateez fluff #ateez imagines #ateez fanfic #imagines #fluff #kpop #fanfiction #atiny #ateez scenarios

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jensengirl83 · 4 years

Text

Regret and Redemption Chapter eight

Dean x reader

Mechanic!AU

Word Count-2269

Warnings-Angst, language, heartbreak

Summary- Reader has left Dean and is trying to move on with her life. Can Dean prove himself and convince her to come back home?

A/N- Song in this chapter is “Don’t Know What’s You’ve Got Until It’s Gone” by Cinderella. Thank you to my beta @emoryhemsworth and all my girls and guy for the encouragement to keep going with this series. I love you all!

Amazing series cover and text dividers courtesy of @talesmaniac89

Regret and Redemption Spotify Playlist

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2FX7eDSq8WEUlFyPUG1j8f?si=PZNFJlmqS42rhBuqO-Fd4g

Mary: Y/N, I know you probably don’t want to talk to me, and I understand, but Dean is not doing so well, and I hoped we could talk about what exactly happened. He has me very worried and I can’t get him to tell me much of anything. I will always think of you as my daughter, Y/N. I truly hope you will message me back and let me say what I need to tell you.

Y/N stared at the text from her mother in law, her emotions now worse than before. She’d always loved Mary and would miss her dearly, but she wasn’t sure if she should reply. Y/N was sure that Dean was having a hard time, but so was she. He was the one who’d betrayed her. He was the one who had thrown their marriage away with no regard for her feelings. The longer she looked at the text message, the angrier she became. Who gives a damn that Dean was having a hard time! Y/N had been the one who’d been slapped in the face with the worst of betrayals. Her husband had been sleeping around behind her back! She’d been nothing but loyal to him, so fuck him and his hard time!

Y/N threw her phone across the room with a scream. The raw emotions of everything had crashed down on her. She felt as if she was drowning as she fell to the kitchen floor in a heap of sobs and screams. How could he do this to her?! She’d loved Dean with every fiber of her being just to be betrayed by him. Her body wracked with sobs as she finally let the severity of their situation overtake her. She’d never felt a pain like this in her entire life, but she never loved anyone the way she had loved Dean Winchester.

Y/N had laid on her kitchen floor and cried, grieving for her loss. Her heart ached as she thought back to all the promises whispered in their tender moments together: the promises that had been shattered like porcelain being thrown to the floor, the words that ran through her head since the day she walked out on him. She missed her husband. Not the man he was now, but the man he had been: the man that would hold her close as he made love to her like she was the only woman in the world, the man who had promised her forever and meant it. She missed the way he used to love her and only her. Y/N decided then and there that those were the last tears she would ever cry for Dean.

Dean had just awoken, and his head felt as if it weighed twenty pounds and was on the verge of exploding. He’d drank himself to sleep the night before and he planned on doing it again. His marriage would be over in a few weeks’ time and he had nothing else to stay sober for. He’d ruined one of the only good things that had ever happened to him. He was being sued and could possibly lose everything he had worked for and he couldn’t care less. Without Y/N, he didn’t want any of it anyway. What was the point if he had no one to share it with?

Dean traded his morning coffee for another glass of whiskey. He threw his head back and finished the drink in one swallow, hissing at the burn as it made its way down his throat. He refilled his glass and repeated his actions from seconds ago, deciding to forgo the glass and take the whole bottle back to the couch where he planned to stay for the day. He had already called the garage and told them he didn’t know when he would be back in. There were too many memories of Y/N there, and if he had to be reminded of her, he would rather be home where he could drink himself into a stupor.

Dean stared down at the ring that was still on his left hand. He hadn’t been able to make himself take it off. Even though he had signed the divorce papers, taking his wedding band off made it all too real and he wasn’t ready for that. He was hanging on by a thread and the finality of removing his ring would drain what little strength he had to keep going.

Dean couldn’t handle the quiet any longer as he hit shuffle on his playlist. He knew he was sure to hear something that would remind him of Y/N, but he didn’t care. The memories of their time together were all he had left, and he welcomed the pain. It was the only thing that let him feel like he was still alive like he hadn’t died the day she walked out and left him alone. Dean turned up the whiskey and chugged as the tears began to make their way down his face. It became part of his daily routine to let the tears flow and wish he could go back and make different decisions. He laid his head back and closed his eyes, letting the pain and heartache consume him completely when the first notes of a song filled the room.

I can't tell ya baby what went wrong

I can't make you feel what you felt so long ago

I'll let it show

I can't give you back what's been hurt

Heartaches come and go and all that's left are the words

I can't let go

If we take some time to think it over baby

Take some time, let me know

If you really want to go

The lyrics that filled the room had Dean singing along as his heart ached. They’d both always liked this song, but now it hit a lot differently.

Don't know what you got till it's gone

Don't know what it is I did so wrong

Now I know what I got

It's just this song

And it ain't easy to get back

Takes so long

He hadn’t realized what he had in Y/N. He took for granted that she would always be there, and now he was paying the price. Dean turned up the bottle as the song continued to play.

I can't feel the things that cause you pain

I can't clear my heart of your love it falls like rain

Ain't the same

I hear you calling far away

Tearing through my soul I just can't take another day

Who's to blame

If we take some time to think it over baby

Take some time let me know

If you really want to go

Y/N had already left and wasn’t coming back. Dean’s chest heaved with the emotion that was coursing through him. He always buried his emotions deep, but he couldn’t be strong anymore. His whole world was crumbling around him and he couldn’t keep his feelings from coming to the surface.

Do you want to see me beggin' baby

Can't you give me just one more day

Can't you see my heart's been draggin' lately

I've been lookin' for the words to say

Don't know what you got till it's gone

Don't know what it is I did so wrong

Now I know what I got

It's just this song

And it ain't easy to get back

Takes so long

The last notes of the song filled the air as Dean chugged the rest of the whiskey in the bottle. He could only wish for one more day, one more chance. He’d blown it and he had to deal with the consequences. If only everyone knew how he had planned on dealing with them, in a constant drunken stupor.

Y/N took a shower to calm down after her mental breakdown. The text from Mary was still in the back of her mind. She knew she needed to let him go and not look back, but she couldn’t help but worry. Y/N decided to give her mother-in-law a call to put this to rest once and for all. Y/N dialed Mary’s number and braced herself for the conversation she was about to have.

“Hello,” Mary answered.

“Hi, Mary. It’s Y/N,” she said with hesitation. She wasn’t looking forward to this conversation.

“Y/N! Oh honey, how are you?” Mary asked with concern.

“I’ve been better,” she answered honestly.

“I know sweetie. I’m so sorry, Y/N! I raised him better than that and I’m ashamed of how he betrayed you,” Mary’s voice getting softer as she finished speaking.

“It’s not your fault. He’s a grown man. He knew what he was doing,” Y/N wasn’t sugarcoating anything with his mother.

“He’s bad off, Y/N. I walked up on him screaming at his father’s grave and blaming him for everything last night,” Mary said in almost a whisper.

“What?!” Y/N asked in shock. Dean had only been to John’s grave a handful of times since he passed.

“I’ve never seen him that upset, Y/N, granted he was drunk, but he wasn’t that upset when John died,” Mary said, the sadness and worry evident in her voice.

“I don’t know what you think I can do, Mary. I’m not trying to be rude, but what am I supposed to do?” she asked exasperated.

“Go talk to him, Y/N. I know I have no right to ask you to do this, but talk to him and convince him to let you go without drinking himself to death! He won’t listen to any of us,” Mary pleaded with her.

“Fine! He’s not going to listen to me either, but I’ll try,” Y/N said with a sigh.

“Thank you, sweetie! I appreciate it! Bye, Y/N,” Mary said, hanging up the phone.

Y/N hung her head and groaned. How did she let herself get roped into doing this? She still had two hours before she had to meet Steven for lunch, so she decided to just go get it over with. She hoped that Mary had been exaggerating and that Dean wasn’t that bad, but she knew him too well. She grabbed her wallet and keys and headed to the door to go try to talk some sense into her soon-to-be ex-husband.

What Y/N saw when she walked through the front door made her heart ache. Dean was passed out, whiskey bottle still in hand. He looked like he hadn’t shaved or showered in days; he was a pitiful sight to take in. She walked over and took the bottle from his hand, setting it down on the coffee table as she took a seat next to it.

“Dean, wake up!” Y/N exclaimed as she tried to shake him awake.

The smell of the whiskey emanating from him made her stomach churn. She had seen him drink his feelings away before, but this was an all-time low. Y/N shook him again as he started to stir.

“We need to talk, Dean,” she said, trying to keep her voice void of all emotion.

“Y/N?!” Dean questioned as his eyes went wide at the sight of his wife before him. It had to be a dream.

“What the hell, Dean? What are you trying to accomplish here? Have you seen yourself? You look awful!” Y/N said as she shook her head.

“Hey, baby! I miss you,” Dean said as he reached out to run his finger down her cheek.

“Stop it, Dean! I’m here to tell you to get your shit together. Do you know that your mother practically begged me to come and knock some sense into you? She’s worried you are going to drink yourself into the grave and now I can see why she thinks that,” Y/N said as her voice began to crack. He’d hurt her, and their marriage was over, but seeing him like this was killing her.

“Come on sweetheart….I’m fine. Nothing to worry about,” Dean said slurring his words.

“You don’t look fine to me. You look like shit and you need to get a grip on yourself. This is ridiculous, Dean!” Y/N resorted to yelling, hoping it would make him listen because her heart was breaking seeing him so broken.

“Ridiculous?! I’m being ridiculous? I’m not the one who walked away and left me here for dead!” Dean yelled as he tried to sit up but to no avail.

“I’m not doing this with you, Dean. Get your shit together and move on! I won’t be back to have this conversation again!” Y/N growled as she stood to leave.

“I’m sorry baby! Don’t leave me, please! I love you Y/N, please come home,” Dean begged as he grabbed for her hand but was too drunk to catch her.

“I’m sorry Dean. We’re over, so please get a hold of yourself and move on. If you won’t do it for your family then do it for me, please?” Y/N said with her back to the drunken man.

Y/N didn’t give him a chance to respond before she walked out the door, slamming it shut behind her. She couldn’t let him know how seeing him like that had affected her. She barely made it to her car when the tears began to stain her cheeks. She promised herself that morning that she wouldn’t cry over him again, but seeing the shell of the man he once was had been too much to take.

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chvrrystvles · 5 years

Text

Falling Again

Harry is falling apart and Y/N can't stop crying.

Summary: After a rough breakup, Harry wrote Y/n a song and he hopes she listens.

Warnings: Angst, smut

Word count: 2.7k

A/n: Well this happened... kind critiquing is always needed, and appreciated.

Harry’s hands shook slightly and the ice in his drink rattled around with every bounce of his leg. He stared out into the crowded bar searching everywhere for those mesmerizing eyes he had once stared so deep into. He had messaged her last week and asked her to come, he thought it might bring her some closure, and maybe bring him some peace of mind. More than likely she wouldn’t show up, but somewhere in the back of his mind he had hoped that maybe she would find it in her heart to come, even just for a second.

She had woken up to a text around ten in the morning on a Saturday, she could’ve sworn her heart stopped beating and her breath caught in her throat. She eyed the message suspiciously, it wasn’t like Harry to message her after what went on between them. And it definitely wasn’t like Harry to want to see her again after breaking her heart into a million pieces, he felt guilty, she knew that. But, how could she deny him a chance to explain himself, she wasn’t as cruel as she should be to him. She believes everyone deserves a second chance, even Harry.

Harry paced back and forth behind the curtains, the show started in five minutes and he wasn’t able to eye the crowd in search of her anymore. He could hear the announcer begin to introduce him and his band. Throwing his guitar strap over his shoulder, he stepped onto center stage and waited for the curtains to open and the lights to shine out on the audience.

He waited for the claps to die down. Harry cleared his throat, “I wrote this one ‘bout a girl whose heart I broke, and I dunno if she’s ‘ere but, if she is I hope she knows, ‘m lost without ‘er.” He eyed his band mates and a simple piano melody began to play, he held his head low and began to sing.

He felt lost without her beside him every night, and every note he sang made him feel a little less lonely on the almost empty stage. His voice wavered in the first verse, he was terrified; was she here?

The sound of his voice bounced off the walls of the crowded bar and people began to perk their ears up to listen. Every ounce of hurt that he had caused himself was being shared with these people who were mostly strangers. He had to share this part of himself though, what if there was a slim chance that she had decided that showing up was a good idea; he couldn’t sing the song with anything but every broken piece of him.

She sat in the back sipping on a coke and rum, Harry’s favorite. While they were together Harry was often seen with a glass full of the same drink Y/n was now sipping on. Call her pathetic but, it was a little habit she couldn’t drop. Something about how the liquor made its way down her throat, burning all the while, brought her comfort, and made her think of him; most times when Y/n was sober it was too hard to think of Harry.

Her eyes were low, full of sleep and her tight red dress now seemed a little too tight. Maybe it was just because the sweaty bodies around her created a thick cloud and made her skin feel damp, or maybe because she knew that this dress was his favorite. Either way, her red dress, felt entirely too tight.

Her head turned swiftly at the mention of his name, and there he stood in all his glory, beautifully broken and it was his fault. Was it wrong of her to think he looked more perfect than he ever did, maybe so, but god did he look amazing. Her entire world stopped, he had written a song for her, about her, to her.

Harry didn’t let his eyes meet the crowd until he began to sing the chorus, letting every ounce of hurt flow through every verse. He thought she hadn’t come, but he’d still sing like she had, like he had something to prove to her. He had lost himself when he lost Y/n, he wanted her to know that. That every night when tried to shut his eyelids and fell away into a world of dreams, she was there, haunting him in the most brilliant of ways. A ghost of who she was before he broke her, floated around in these film type dreams, he wished he could bring that girl back. He wished he wouldn’t have broken her, broken their love.

Tears rolled down her face, her beautiful Harry, was so, so, utterly destroyed inside. It made her think that maybe he stayed up and had just as many sleepless nights as she had. That thought gave her a dull ache in her heart that she hadn’t felt in nearly six months. Was it wrong of her to walk out on him like she did, without giving him a chance to explain himself?

Regret settled deep within her, and she’d never felt worse than she did in that very moment. It was possible that maybe they were both beautifully broken, and maybe, just maybe, they could be each other's fix.

Harry let his eyes linger for just a little while longer on the crowd, searching aimlessly for those eyes. Her eyes. Time seemed to slow down, everything moving slowly around him as he finally found those amazing orbs he had been searching for all night. Y/n was here, she came to his show; she was crying.

The song came to an end and the crowd roared with applause. They liked it, but more importantly, did she? He hoped she understood how lost he was without her and how he was falling out of love with who he was now. Harry had realized the error of his ways, and he hoped that it wasn’t too late.

After they had finished the rest of their songs, and the curtains closed, Harry and his band mates stepped off the stage and began putting up their instruments.

Nothing had ever hurt worse than Harry accepting that writing some silly song, about how sorry he was, would not have Y/n falling back into his arms. For once, he let the tears roll down his face and he had no intentions of stopping them. His heart ached.

Y/n watched Harry on the stage pouring out his heart for the past hour and couldn’t stop the quiet sobs that left her lips in the bathroom. After so many weeks begging for him to show vulnerability, he accepted defeat and let an entire crowd of people see how damaged he had been left with after she left him.

“”arry mate, some chick is lookin’ for ya, she looks a bit upset fo’ sure,’ one of Harry’s band mates said to him in a voice no louder than a whisper. He nodded his head, it was no surprise that she’d come to see him. She was upset, which means she was on the road to forgiving him or this had made her only want to hate him more. And, he wasn’t sure which one he’d be able to accept easier.

She looked beautiful, wearing a red dress, the red dress he’d picked out for her to wear to their Valentine's dinner last February. Her mascara had run down her cheeks staining them lightly with black marks, and her lips looked as though she had continuously bit at them all night. In fact, he knew she had been, he’d been watching her, absolutely captivated by her beauty once again.

He cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck, “Y/n, ‘m sorry petal, and I know I don’t deserve ya, but at least let me explain m’self, ya deserve tha.” Tears didn’t cease from flowing down her already soaked face, as she gave him a simple nod. Had he lost weight, she noticed his trousers didn’t quite fit the way they used to.

She followed him outside behind the building, the rest of his band was putting the equipment into the trailer and preparing to leave. She wondered if he��d rode with the rest of them here, or had he drove himself. She’d grabbed a cab in order to get here, driving at night wasn’t one of her fortes.

Lingering eyes watched the pair of old lovers, suspicion being raised due to Harry and Y/n not been seen together in quite some time.

Harry began to walk over to what appeared to be his car and beckoned Y/n to follow him, “Thought tha’ maybe we better ‘ave this conversation behind closed doors.” She couldn’t get a word to come out of her mouth so she nodded in hopes that he understood that speaking was much harder for her than it was for him.

Streetlights lit up the inside of his car, and not a word was shared as they made their way down the busy highway. She was familiar with where they were going, she had been there countless times and made memories she’d never forget (she had already tried to, with no luck.) The engine reved one last time as Harry put the car in park and twisted the key. With a knowing look on his face, he gave her the silent option to sit in his car and have the long awaited conversation or sit in the comfort of his home.

Doors were pulled open and others unlocked, and the two broken hearted people made their way inside the building that was home to memories of their failed attempt at love. She sat down at the bar the bordered the kitchen and he began to make them both a mug of tea. For a second, everything felt normal to the both of them, but just as quick as the feeling came, it left, and they were aware of what the reality was.

She stirred her tea, two sugars and light milk, and eyed him carefully. She was the first to speak, “Did you mean it,” she let out an audible gulp, “like, like how you weren’t someone you want around,” her voice quivered. Tears were already forming in her eyes, and she was sure she wouldn’t be able to take it if Harry truly felt this way.

With his back turned to her he let out a muffled cry, he couldn’t look her in the eyes, he wasn’t strong enough anymore to be able to do that. He couldn’t watch her fall apart, just as he was doing. “‘M s-so so sorry pet, I can’t live without ya, I messed up I know tha’ I do. Ya mean the world to me, an’ I don’t know how to fix this.” Y/n let her heart break in pieces again, but this time she hoped that Harry would be the one to put it back together.

Her footsteps could be heard as she walked into the kitchen, “Do you still love me?” She turned him to face her and nearly fell apart at the sight in front of her. Harry’s eyes had turned bright green and bloodshot and tears flowed freely down his pink tinted cheeks. He was falling apart. His heart raced and he could hear his ears ringing, “‘course I love ya, never loved anyone mo’ than I do you.”

That was all Y/n needed to press her lips firmly to his. His lips tasted salty but were just as soft and inviting as they had been when she kissed him goodbye. She could feel his tears hit her face, but his lips moved in sync with hers. She pulled away for a second and gazed into his eyes. “Then show me you love me.”

That was all Harry needed to pick Y/n up and take her to his bedroom. His left a fiery trail of kisses down Y/n’s neck and suckled softly on the spot at the bottom of her neck that he knew drove her crazy. Y/n couldn’t help but let out a soft moan, which Harry found angelic. Harry smiled softly against her skin, “love you s’much pet, s’much.” He pushed the bedroom door open with his foot and laid her down softly on the bed. “Missed you, button,” he mumbled trying to remember everything about this moment. His eyes were still glossy, but Y/n thought this just made him look even better than he already did.

Y/n pulls her, too tight, red dress over her head and watches Harry do the same with his trousers and some-what see through top. She grabs at him desperate to feel him, in any way possible. His hands roamed her body for the first time in forever and he takes time kissing her body up and down. Harry makes sure to take time leaving little lovebites on Y/n’s thighs, knowing how much she loved them.

“Jus’ do something Har,” she mewled softly, just wanting to be able to really feel him already. He made careful to take time with her body and treat her gently, kissing around the waistband of her light blue panties and down the front, ghosting over her core. He could practically hear the throbbing of her clit, she smelled amazing. Becoming impatient Y/n slips her panties off and tosses them somewhere across Harry’s room, she couldn’t be bothered to look where at the moment. She craved to feel his mouth on her.

After hearing her whine for his mouth, he licked a long stripe up her folds, savoring the way she tasted. He tested the waters more by pushing his tongue inside her and lapping at her inside, moaning softly into her, sending vibrations deep into her core. Her fingers wove themselves into his hair pulling softly with every movement of his skillful tongue. He smirked into her and pulled her, already very sensitive, bud into his mouth and suckled, flicking his tongue against her clit softly. Her thighs tried to close around his head, but his capable hands kept tem spread apart. He eyed her lovingly when he heard her quiet moans and her stating, “‘M close, baby, please.”

Harry toyed with her clit in his mouth and brought his fingers to her core and pushed one in, earning a loud moan from the writhing girl above him. “Taste so good, pet, always so sweet for me,’ he pumped his fingers in and out of her twisting them slightly to hit that one spot inside her that drove her to the edge. He takes her into his mouth again and works her closer to her high. Her moans grew increasingly louder as he worked her through her first orgasm of the night. Harry watches her face screwed shut “That’s it, doll, cum for me.”

This was all Y/n needed to push her to the edge, eyes closed and hands tangled into his hair, she rode out her orgasm on his tongue, feeling ignited on the inside.

She lifted her body up and reached out for Harry’s cock that laid swollen and red against his stomach. He swats her hand away softly, “‘s not about me, angel, jus’ wanted to show you my love.” Y/n could feel her heart melt in her chest, he was giving her the love she had craved for since she left his house after their fight.

Harry crawled up to lay next to her naked body, and pulled her close to his chest. She peppered soft kisses along his skin and paid special attention to each and every tattoo, her eyes felt heavy but she wasn’t quite sure if she wanted to give into sleeping or to just lay next to the man she knew she could not live without.

“Promise me we’ll get through this, together,” she glanced at him with a worrisome expression.

“Always, petal, ‘m not losing you again,’ he left little kisses all over her face until the worried look was replaced by a smile.

Harry knew he didn’t mind falling as long as it was with Y/n, and Y/n knew that being broken with Harry was much better than being broken by herself.

#harry styles writing #harry styles blurb #harry styles smut #smut #fine line #falling #blurbs #harry styles imagine #angst #harry styles #harry styles angst #harry styles x y/n #harry styles x reader

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miss-tc-nova · 4 years

Text

The Grandson’s Wish - Brain & Eraqus Pt 2/2

I really really love these two. Gods I need more Grandpa Brain stuff.

By the way this 2 part mini-series was inspired by the song “You Will Be Okay” from episode 2 of Helluva Boss. I may or may not have cried...a little...

~~Part 2~~

He stands there, staring at the door that doesn’t appear to be opening any time soon. Still, there’s a racket going on inside so he knows there are people home. Despite the potential scolding that awaits him, Brain lets himself into his daughter’s home.

The foyer is empty, but the chattering floats in from the door on the left—one of the rooms meant to see temporary guests as Brain recalls.

“But I like this one.”

Standing in the middle of that room is Eraqus, surrounded by clothes of many colors while a trio of women sort through them and his mother watches on. The white haori is just slightly too big on him, but he’s still a growing boy. He’s currently busy giving his mother a pleading look while she’s far less impressed.

“No. It’s too bright and you’re just going to end up ruining it,” the daughter says sharply.

“I think it looks pretty good.”

All eyes snap to the man in the doorway. One face lights up while another looks minutely inconvenienced, the other three are unknowable as the women bow—a common occurrence at the Grandmaster’s entrance.

Beaming, Eraqus waves his too-long sleeve, but the daughter greets him with, “Dad, what are you doing here?”

“My grandson’s entrance ceremony is tomorrow. He’s going to be a keyblade warrior so I thought I’d stop by to see how he was doing.” Brain glances around. “But uh…what’s all this about?”

“He needs to look appropriate tomorrow so we’re picking out new clothes for him.”

“Ah.” In reality, Brain didn’t really agree with the concept, but he never fared well arguing with his daughter about things like this.

“Seriously, can we just be done?” pleads Eraqus, shirking out of the jacket. “I’ve tried on like a million things already.”

Clearly exasperated with her son, the woman gives. “Fine. None of them have looked as good as the blue one anyway.”

One of the women follows the daughter out of the room while the clothes are put away by the others and Eraqus slips behind a room divider to change. As the women pack up, Brain slips one of them a handful of munny in exchange for the white haori. The two boys then help them carry their items out to the cart outside before bidding them goodbye.

Seeing as she hasn’t come down to start another conversation with him, there’s a good chance his daughter is busying herself with preparations for tomorrow, not that it really bothers Brain.

“Well that seemed like a party,” he comments as they amble back inside.

Eraqus, less enthused, groans, “Ugh, I kinda just want it to be over.”

“Really?” Grandpa questions, concern creeping in. “You’ve been looking forward to this since you could reach my knees.”

With a sigh, the boy flops onto the sofa. “I know, but mom’s taking it way too seriously. She made me practice the ceremony every night this week. I know she means well and appearances are important to her, but I feel like I’m gonna be sick.”

This is exactly the life Brain worried Eraqus would grow into, but he’s been doing his damnedest to make sure the kid has some perspective above it all. Though perhaps Eraqus always would’ve been fine if he could pick out the things his mother is truly concerned with.

“Yeah, she’s a very proper person.” The man sits beside his grandkid. “But sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.”

Eraqus arches an ebony brow at his grandfather, only for both eyebrows to jump in surprise at the white fabric handed him.

“Is this for me?” He sounds as if he dares not hope despite how longingly his thumbs run across the fabric.

“Of course. Think of it as an early congratulations gift.”

There’s that smile Brain enjoys seeing. “Thanks Grandpa.”

On his feet, Eraqus pulls the jacket on and his grandfather lets out a low whistle. “Still lookin’ good, but you’ve got some growin’ to do, Sunshine.”

The kid laughs, but the smile slips away as he sits back down. “Was it like this when you became a keyblade wielder? So stressful and formal?”

“Oh no, but sometimes order is a good thing. In my day, people would just suddenly show up with keyblades.” Memories of his first mission—his first near death experience—trouble the man. “They didn’t know how to use them but were told to go to mysterious lands and fight the darkness. Survival rates were terrible, especially if you didn’t have any friends to keep an eye out for you.”

“Really? But I heard you were a loner before you became a leader.”

“Mostly,” Brain says with a smile. “I was pretty lucky your grandma had a soft spot for awkward guys.”

“But you’re such a great leader now.”

“Yeah, because of her. Your grandma taught me a lesson that gave me the light I needed to become a leader. She drilled it into my head that the bonds we share with other people are the most important things we can have.” He pokes at Eraqus’s chest. “That’s why, no matter where our paths take us, I’ll always be with you.”

That seems to soothe some of the anxiety Eraqus has been building, but he’s still got some questions. “Do you think I could ever be as good as you?”

“Kid, I think you’re gonna be leagues ahead of me.”

Eraqus lets out a nervous chuckle. “I don’t know about that.”

“I do. I’ll make sure of it.”

“How?”

The master gives a cheeky grin. “I just told you, now didn’t I.”

Whether or not he understood that meaning, Eraqus returns the exact same smile.

Grandfather and grandson visit for a while, perfectly comfortable in each other’s company unlike anywhere else. Even in his daughter’s house, Brain can be no happier than when he’s with Eraqus. Each and every time, he’s reminded of how much better the future will be with this kid protecting it. The Dandelion fought so hard to bring everything to this exact moment, but his heart always has that moment of relief knowing things will only get better for the generations to come. After all these years, Brain still can’t help feeling that Eraqus has made the suffering worthwhile.

“Dad.” The Grandmaster’s gaze looks to the woman. She beckons him to follow.

“Uh oh. What did I do now?” he grumbles as he stands, smirking when he hears Eraqus snicker.

He joins his daughter in the foyer where she looks as serious as ever.

“What’s up?” Brain asks.

“I just got a message that there’s a Heartless problem and you’re the only one available who can handle it.”

That’s does not sound good. “Oh yeah?” She nods. “Where at?”

“The Keyblade Graveyard.”

Icy claws seize Brain’s heart. He prayed almost every night that he would never have to return to that place. It’s full of dread and grief—but he is a master after all; a leader who must protect what he created.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

A low, steady breath is a meager attempt to contain the trembling that threatens to take over.

“Okay. Just let me say goodbye to Eraqus and I’ll go.”

Without another word, she leaves him be. Again, a moment is taken to carefully ensure not a single trace of his doubt is showing before he heads back for Eraqus.

“Sorry kid, looks like I gotta go.”

The boy hops up with worry in his eyes, but he has no idea. “But you’ll be back tomorrow right? For the ceremony?”

Somehow, the man puts on a smile. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“Okay.” The relief in Eraqus proves Brain’s skimpy façade worked.

By a nervous tic, Brain’s hat is adjusted. “Alright. You take care, Sunshine. And remember, may your—”

“—my heart be my guiding key.” With shining granite eyes, he gives his grandfather a beaming grin. “I’ll never forget.”

Laughing, Brain ruffles that wavy mess of hair. “Good. Now you save a seat for me, okay?”

“Yeah.” Without warning, Eraqus steps forward to embrace him. “Be safe, Grandpa.”

A bit taken off guard, it takes Brain a second to hug him back, but nothing could make him happier. The anxiety that had sucked the warrior in takes a hit; this kid doesn’t understand the confidence he instills in the old man. Maybe it’s not the future that’s lucky to have Eraqus, but Brain himself.

That hat tips forward just enough to shield his stinging eyes from the world. “Will do.”

~~~~~

Black shadows flitter from existence. With their disappearance goes all the noise, all except the heavy pants of the warrior himself. The peace following his victory is quickly tainted by the worry working into his mind.

“I’m gonna be late,” he huffs.

As the man sets out, an agonizing pain sears through his chest. Hot crimson seeps past his fingers, glistening in the moonlight.

“Shit!”

The threat had been more than he was prepared for. A beast he hadn’t seen since his days in Daybreak Town made its appearance—a beast usually taken on by teams of wielders. Well Brain succeeded in taking the monster down, but not without serious injury.

A cloud of smoke appears, producing his lifelong companion; however, rather than their usual sass, the Chirithy looks concerned—that’s not a good sign.

“Brain?”

“Chi-chi,” he grimaces, clamping his hand down on the gash. “How much time do I have before the ceremony?”

The feline hesitates but pulls a pocket watch from their purse. “It starts in fifteen minutes…”

Legs trembling, he makes another attempt to leave—the result is the same. This time, his knees give out, sending the man to the ground.

“Fuck!”

Palms against the ground, his muscles quiver from the effort but make no progress. Desperation begins to set in beside the invading cold. This is the last place he was supposed to be; he should be at home, preparing for the entrance ceremony—he should be with Eraqus.

No matter how hard he strains, Brain can’t push himself off the ground. Before long, he can’t even make the effort; all his body can do now is produce tears. They represent so many things fleeting through him: sadness, fear, anger—most of all, regret.

“AaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!”

A gentle paw wipes away some of the water while another slips into his freezing fingers. “I’m so sorry, Brain.”

An invisible weight in his chest makes it difficult to breathe and the cold is dissolving into nothingness. As the dark world grows darker, Brain’s last thought trail to his grandson.

Forgive me, Eraqus…I’m not making it to the entrance ceremony. I’m sorry…

~~~~~

Night drapes across the sky to welcome the stars. The salty air floats by, rotating turbines and ruffling hair. Boots clack against the stone as the young man makes his way along the docks.

Life in Kingdom Hearts has been so serene; Scala has never looked so perfect, his friends are here, his wife is here, and there are no monsters to fight. It’s everything he’s always wanted, but Brain is far from happy. He’s only been here a few months and, while the freedom from all those responsibilities is nice, his end still haunts him.

Today is the day of the Founding Festival; turns out it’s a holiday among the dead as well. Supposedly, this is where the all the lanterns end up. Brain didn’t really feel like celebrating, but his wife insisted. Admittedly, he enjoyed himself, but mostly he enjoyed her enthusiasm rather than the event itself. Seeing the lights rise from the water had also been quite the sight, but he didn’t participate in looking to see what the living were wishing for, instead, content to watch his wife do so. But it’s over now and the man insisted he needed a moment to himself.

With a grunt, he sits at the edge of the water, staring out at the placid ocean. Guilt eats at his insides for being a downer given all the things returned to him, but it plays second fiddle to the heartbreak crashing in—this is the first year he didn’t spend the Founding Festival with his grandson.

Sighing, Brain reaches up to clear his eyes. It’s a miserable attempt and he gives up, only to be met with a surprise.

Before him floats a flickering light; it’s one of the paper lanterns, but the last ones arrived over an hour ago.

Careful not to fall into the water, Brain pulls in the late-comer. Carefully, his hands turn it over. Printed on the paper is the wielders’ crest. It’s a popular pattern and he saw several of them earlier.

A face, one so familiar it tugs at his heart, flashes in his thoughts. As if it had burned him, Brain releases the lamp, leaving it hanging in the air before him. The startled man stares in shock.

This is from Eraqus…

He hesitates, afraid to delve into the wishes of his grandchild. There’s no doubt that boy was heartbroken over his death, but Brain had no way of knowing if he held the broken promise against him. Maybe he didn’t deserve to guide such a bright young man; maybe someone else is better suited to lead him.

No, I owe it to him. I told him I’d always be there…

Chilled, ocean air fills his lungs as he tries to regain his nerve. Fighting the quiver in his fingers, Brain recaptures the lantern and focuses on his grandson’s wish.

“I hope you’re proud of me, Grandpa.”

Instantly, knees hit the stone. Teeth grit in a poor attempt to contain the overwhelming emotions. They easily destroy his petty resolve and there’s no use fighting the tears that patter to the ground. With every sob, his body shudders but, for the first time since his arrival, Brain finally feels at peace.

Always.

#eraqus #brain #kh brain #khux brain #grandpa brain

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dopescotlandwarrior · 5 years

Text

The Dancer-Chapter One

Also on AO3 A special thanks to @ Statell for all your help

Chapter One

Claire spun on the balls of her bare feet, over and over, feeling the veils slide across her sweaty face. Breathing rhythmically to avoid panting so her stomach remained quiet and smooth. She powered through the remaining spins to the gasps of the students watching. Coming out of her spins her body slowed to a half-beat. Pulling the veil up to her face, she looked at the students with an invitation for sultry romance making every female uncomfortable. Claire’s hips twitched independently to the music as she entered the last part of the dance. Body undulating, chest pressing against the skimpy fabric covering her nipples. Ten spins with the veils trailing around her and she dropped to the ground and stopped.

The class of women cheered for her and Claire stood to bow. She ran to the backroom to wipe the stinging sweat out of her eyes before dropping eyewash in each. The instructor gave a hug from behind and congratulated her on her performance.

“That was absolutely wonderful Claire! It is so impressive what you have learned! I am very confident in recommending you to one of my clients if you are ready.”

Claire stared at the woman with wide eyes. This is unexpected, she thought, it must be too soon for an actual job belly dancing. She looked dubiously at the instructor.

“You are ready darling. Think about it and let me know. One of the clients has an opening three nights a week. It’s a good place to start if you want it.” She hugged Claire again and left her to dress.

Piling the veils and costume into her bag, Claire emerged from the studio with a clean washed face, beige pantsuit, and sensible shoes. She was late returning from lunch due to her final performance and her head was getting crowded with rival emotions. Exhilaration that she finally finished the last level offered by the studio and sadness she was leaving after six years.

Claire unlocked the door to her book store and ran inside. It was a character flaw to be late to work and she would chastise herself for the rest of the afternoon. She smiled at incoming customers taking a double-take at the man behind them.

He had been to the shop twice before. He was handsome and tall, hard not to notice. He had asked her for a novel, newly added to the New York Times bestseller list. She apologized and offered to order it for him. There just wasn’t room to stock every bestseller in her little shop and she wasn’t likely to displace her lovely antique collections for the latest steamy, here today, gone tomorrow, fiction. He approached the front register.

“I ordered a book last week,” he said smiling. Has it come in yet? My name is Jamie Fraser.”

She let her gaze fall on the most incredible blue eyes that held his smile with a tinge of mischief. His order was already there but Claire turned too quickly knocking over a display of cards next to the register. A very unladylike sound came out of her as she bent to pick them all up. Piling them on the counter she ran to the back for the man’s order.

Claire could feel her humiliation spread across her cheeks as she took a deep breath.

“Jesus H Roosevelt Christ,” was uttered under her breath. Why did she always lose it when a good-looking man talked to her. She felt hopelessly unnerved by him and tried to steady her mind.

“Sorry about the mess I just caused.”

The man had put the cards back into the display and smiled at his accomplishment. Claire felt the shaking that started in her calves, slowly work its way up and lunged for the register before she was quaking with anxiety. Handing the bag to the man she tried to smile and thanked him for the help. She turned and walked quickly to the back room before he could ask her for anything else.

Hearing the bell on the shop door, she exhaled a long-held breath and felt her tension ease immediately. Maybe her doctor was right about therapy. She hated the idea but life was getting intolerable for her, except when she danced. Claire checked the tiny mirror on the wall and went back to cleaning shelves.

The following week she met with the owner of a Greek restaurant who was looking for a belly dancer to entertain customers while they dined. He looked at her beige clothing and pinned up hair and she could see the doubt in his eyes.

“You come highly recommended by the studio and I don’t want to hurt feelings, but I can’t see a good fit here.”

Claire stood up straight and looked him in the eye before responding.

“I look different when I dance.”

She nervously pushed her hair behind her ears and tried to smile.

“Okay. Let’s give the pretty girl a chance,” he said. “You dance at noon tomorrow and I will watch. Then we talk some more, okay?”

Claire shook his hand gratefully and smiled her thanks before running out of the restaurant. She was thrilled to have the chance to dance in front of people and started thinking about which costume to wear as she reached for her phone.

“Geillis! I have an audition tomorrow at the new Greek restaurant, to dance!”

Geillis was her bestie and had Claire’s best interest at heart. She hadn’t seen her dance because the studio didn’t allow the public to watch the classes. She was doubtful her friend could muster the sex appeal to arouse anyone under eighty years old, but she pushed herself to be excited and encouraging.

“Well, look at you, a professional dancer now! Need any help getting ready? I can bring dinner in a bucket tonight.”

“Yes! Please do. I have a new costume I want to wear, and the skirt is too long. You can help me cut it. It won’t take any time at all. You are a lifesaver Geillis.”

In Geillis’s mind, she saw a floor-length prairie skirt the pilgrims sported and wondered if this was a good idea. She saw Claire’s belly dancing as a misguided attempt to break out of her frumpiness. An avenue to a more exciting life as seen in a movie perhaps. Geillis rolled her eyes at the doomed evening ahead.

Claire pushed away from the table. “Oh my God, I am probably too stuffed with chicken to fit into my costume Geillis, but it sure was tasty.” Claire stood to remove the paper plates and bucket.

“Get yer costume on and let’s get this over with, aye?”

Claire was too excited to catch the tone of her friend's sentence and ran to the bedroom pulling on a bright blue skirt and attached pantie with three layers of transparent silk. She pulled the hip scarf around her with three lines of metal charms making the most beautiful sound when bumping into each other. Next was the bra top that fit tightly, hugging her skin right below her breasts. It too was adorned with metal baubles. Claire held the skirt up as she walked into the living room and to her gaping friend.

“What’s wrong with you Geillis.”

Geillis stared at Claire’s stomach and the panties that were dangerously low and v-shaped showing her long torso, taught, sinewy, and devoid of fat. When she walked, her thighs would peek out from the veils in the skirt, muscular, thin, and shapely.

“Jesus Christ, Claire. I’m lookin at a different person right now. I canna get over ye look so different. It’s remarkable.”

Claire gave her a shimmy with her shoulders followed by hips twitching making the baubles bounce.

“I wear a wig and lots of makeup when I dance so I don’t look like this at all. When we finish the skirt, I have to practice and make sure the length is right. I’ll show you some moves if you like.”

The two women talked about the skirt length and Geillis pinned the front panel allowing Claire to take it off. Geillis was shocked at the change in her friend when she put on that costume. Like doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde she thought and giggled to herself. Geillis decided she would risk the wrath of her employer to see Claire dance tomorrow and had no idea what to expect.

When the two women first met, Claire was already a student of belly dancing and it was mentioned in passing on several occasions, like a hobby. Geillis was instantly taken with Claire, her nerdy personality was endearing, not to mention ego-boosting because Geillis had no social awkwardness. Taking Claire under her wing, they became best friends. No amount of encouragement and exposure to the Edinburgh social scene seemed to make any difference in Claire. Geillis was defeated at trying to change her friend and gave up, to just enjoy Claire as she was. Tonight showed Claire in stark contrast to the mousy bookseller.

“There, that’s the last panel. Go put in on, with… all the rest of the costume. I think ye promised me a sample dance.”

Claire dashed back to her bedroom. This time she wore the wig and her black curls tumbled to her waist. She called to Geillis to turn out all but one side table lamp and push play on her recorder.

Claire pressed her back into the door jam and raised her arms above her head crossing her wrists like she was tied up. Her fabulous abs undulated and she pushed away from the door twirling in circles with the layers of her skirt flying around her. She shimmied into body rolls followed by numerous spins, her hips bounced to the music and Geiliis was transfixed. Claire could move her body like she had never seen.

Later, Claire said goodbye to Geillis, who was clearly impressed and dropped into bed. It was ten-thirty, a half-hour past her bedtime, and she fell asleep totally pissed off with herself.

The next morning, she shoved her costume into a gym bag and turned the front door key of the bookshop at exactly eight o’clock sharp. The day was looking promising and Claire could not wait until noon when she would dance for her new job.

Across town, Jamie Fraser sat at the head of a long conference table where the board was meeting for a final review of their shared endeavor. Each person had a report in front of them and asked Jamie questions about the owner of the local bookstore.

“Dinna fash, she is mostly antique books and collections. Not likely to clash with our inventory. I have visited three times and she doesna even stock the best sellers. No threat to us gentlemen.

Claire entered the restaurant from a back door that led right into the dressing room. She hung her costume and started getting ready. The eyelashes were a challenge with her shaking hands, but they eventually found purchase just above her own lashes.

The doubtful owner knocked and entered, looking for her. He regretted offering this audition. His restaurant was too new to bear up to ridicule and he wanted to back out any way possible. When his eyes landed on Claire, he was relieved. Apparently, the studio sent another student for him, and this one definitely looked the part.

“Hello pretty lady, I am Omar, this is my restaurant.”

Claire looked at him thinking he must be daft since they met yesterday. She smiled and approached him.

“We met yesterday sir and you offered me a test dance, I think you called it.”

“We did? Oh! Is that you in there? Pardon me for being an old man with a terrible memory. You look very different.”

“Are we still on for a dance then?”

“Yes, yes. Are you ready my dear?”

The diners did not notice that a woman stood in the dark doorway of a room adjoining the dining room until a spotlight lit her up, bouncing off the metal charms at her breast and hips. The music started and Claire treated the diners to her amazing hips that bounced independently of each other and hard lifts that made the baubles dance. Her performance was ten minutes long and many forks were suspended in the air as the diners watched her, paralyzed.

As Claire twirled around the room, she caught sight of Geillis at a corner table. She danced to her and smiled as her veils floated behind her. Returning to the center of the room she popped her chest and twitched her hips until everyone was dizzy from watching. She dropped into a bow and ran to the dressing room hearing applause and whistles. Grabbing a towel out of her gym bag she sat down to breathe before she passed out.

The owner came bursting into the room with a happy smile. He could not stop singing her praise and offered her three nights a week, two dances thirty minutes apart for one hundred dollars a night. He stuck out his hand to shake on the deal and she took it.

“You are a chameleon, like, like, a phone booth to change your clothes and then you can fly!”

It took Claire a minute or two to understand the reference to superman and she laughed and shook her head. Once alone, Claire pulled the lashes off her eyelids and wiped off the red lipstick. She looked into the mirror and saw Geillis behind her.

“Well, what did you think?”

“Claire, you know I adore ye, but yer the luckiest little shit on the planet. Did ye see how many gorgeous men were watchin ye? Shakin yer moneymaker like that I can see ye married and livin in grand style before long.” She smiled at Claire like this was a good thing.

“I didn’t spend six years of my life learning to dance so I could find someone to marry. Get back to work before you get fired, and Geillis, thank you for coming.”

Claire was stacking orders under the front register and popped up when she heard the doorbell tinkling. The shaking started immediately as the handsome man approached her smiling. He stuck out his hand.

“It is time we met formally, my name is James Fraser.”

Claire mumbled her name as she shook his hand, wishing she could look into his eyes for the rest of the afternoon.

Jamie looked around the shop, “I have been here a few times. Not spying, just gathering information about our competition.” He was clearly nervous and licked his lips several times looking at the floor. “Listen, Miss Beauchamp, I have to tell ye I am opening a new concept bookstore right down the street. My hope is we will both prosper by referring customers to each other while holding the other in the highest regard.”

The blood drained from Claire’s face and she pulled her hand away abruptly. She watched Fraser look around like he expected the roof to cave in on him and felt her anger boil up inside her.

“What customers are you hoping I refer to your new store, mister Fraser?”

“Well, ye dinna stock the best sellers so ye can send those customers our way. Any interest in antique collections we will send to you,” he smiled like he saw the value in his statement.

“I don’t stock bestsellers because they are here today and gone tomorrow but the orders for those books are thirty-seven percent of my revenue. If they can walk down the street and buy the book from you how many orders do you think I will get?”

Claire was getting heated and tried to calm her heart rate. She wanted the decibels of her argument to pierce this wicked man so he would know he was her enemy.

“Edinburgh doesn’t need another bookstore mister Fraser and I cannot see this store surviving the competition you are suggesting.”

Fraser looked at her with compassion and then lowered his eyes. He hated this part of the business, delivering the news a death blow was coming. He had done this to countless mom and pop bookstores as his company ate up market share all over Scotland, Ireland, and England. It wasn’t pleasant, but he would emerge from this visit relieved this dreadful task was over while the shop owner was just coming to terms with the bomb he just dropped.

Jamie oversaw the opening of new stores, so he was accustomed to breaking hearts, both young and old. In the days leading up to this type of meeting he would lose his appetite, pace the floor at night trying to sleep and work up a head of anxiety that could choke out a horse. But he always did it, and when the shop door closed behind him, he was free of guilt and responsibility for ruining a business, breaking a heart, and stealing a livelihood. When that door closed behind him, most people were never thought of again.

Sometimes he would like the owner so much it was near impossible to deliver the news. Claire Beauchamp was such a person because she was young and pretty with a telling face. Although she didn’t mean to do it, she opened her soul to Jamie on the few occasions he visited her. The right person in your life will set you free, he thought, and you will replace that anxiety with happiness.

Jamie walked away from Claire’s shop feeling like the biggest asshole in the world and wondered why each step away from her wasn’t helping. C’mon Claire, he thought, dinna wallow in yer grief, get busy findin a new job, somethin that will make ye happy, please lass.

Claire stood rigid behind the register all afternoon. She made feeble attempts to clean shelves and re-arrange displays, only to return to this catatonic state of staring out the window. Her store was empty most of the time and today that was a blessing. She locked the front door at exactly six o’clock that evening and walked home wondering how long it would take to lose her shop.

Geillis came that evening with a bottle of whisky and tried to cheer up her friend. As the whisky worked its way through her bloodstream and brain, Mister James Fraser became public enemy number one. She cursed him over and over and prayed for the day she would hold his fate in her hands.

As the days became weeks, Claire wrote countless letters to Fraser, begging him to reconsider. They were all answered the same, a bouquet of flowers with a note that said: “I’m sorry.”

As Claire’s business plummeted, she found relief and escape in her dancing. She gave in to the joyful release and the patrons who watched her loved it. Omar was so thrilled with her performance he quickly moved her into the top spot, six to seven o’clock, the dinner rush, five nights per week. She was often called to do special performances during lunch and her growing bank account could not be overlooked.

Jamie kept an eye on Claire’s bookstore with growing concern. She should have started her going-out-of-business sale by now. He wondered where the money was coming from to keep the lights on. When her shop stayed open for the third month, Jamie took matters into his own hands and contacted her landlord. The man sang Claire’s praises and could not say enough about her dedication to the community through reading programs for kids and book clubs for the classics. Jamie felt like shit hearing this and cleared his throat to stop the extolment before it crippled him.

When the man learned he was speaking to the bastard that stole her business he slammed the phone down almost breaking Jamie’s eardrum. The landlord heard enough to know Claire was in financial trouble. She was using what money she had saved over the years to keep the shop open. It was a doomed cause and the landlord was heartsick for her. Being a compassionate man, he refused to renew Claire’s lease citing structural issues with the buildings that were forcing him to sell.

When the Store-Wide sale sign went up, Jamie Fraser exhaled in relief. Maybe now he could move on with his life and start feeling like a winner again. It was time to break the spell on the Edinburgh store and throw a party for the executives and top earners. If it were possible for a building to be depressed it would explain the overall lack of joy he felt every minute he was at work. It would explain their first-quarter earnings, it would explain the lack of motivation in his staff. Something better change and he felt like it started with him.

Claire was despondent when the store closed. She lingered inside the last night saying goodbye to the authors and classic collections she had cared for and sold for many years. Geillis pulled her home and helped her get ready for her show that night. They didn’t talk much, Claire didn’t have it in her.

“Are ye wearin the new black outfit with the silver veils tonight?”

“Yes, the restaurant is hosting a big party tonight. Tips should be pretty good from what I hear.”

She tried to smile and reassure Geillis she was fine, but her hollow eyes told a different story. Geillis remained upbeat and stayed to help her dress for the big performance.

“Jesus, Claire! You dinna have to move yer hips or anything else with that costume on. How do ye keep the panties on when they ride so low? Looks like they are gonna fall off any minute!”

“Glue and they are not called panties Geillis, they’re called pants. The bra top was adorned with crystals that reflected light when she moved and the silver adornments on her hip scarf bounced in a crazy way. Claire was warming up while two other dancers went before her. She peeked out to gauge the crowd and when she got to the end of a long table, she uttered a strangled sound and ran from the door.

“Holy shit, Geillis, I can’t go out there, I can’t!”

“Why not, ye look great?”

Claire was clearly in a panic, pacing the room and holding her head. What the hell was he doing here? How could she stay hidden from him?”

“Geillis! That asshole Jamie Fraser is out there, and I can’t let him see me. Run to my house and bring back the silver headpiece that wraps around my face. Go! Hurry and I owe you my life!”

Right on cue, Claire emerged from the dark dressing room door and joined the other dancers in a sultry threesome that ended with Claire alone in the middle of the room. She lifted her covered face and moved her arms like she was beckoning the guests at the table. she danced close to the diners stopping along the way to do mesmerizing hip lifts, drops, and shimmies. When she got to Jamie, she moved her sinewy body with undulations, rapid hip lifts and turns.

Jamie could not look away from the dancer in front of him, one foot in front of him. Her body movements stole his sanity as she dropped her upper body backward until her head was inches from his shoulder. She gave him the full measure of her talent, before popping up to complete her dance. When she stopped with the music, she took a bow and waited an agonizing thirty seconds of silence before the table erupted with applause and whistles. Several people were on their feet, including James Fraser. Some of the men begged to see her face as she ran to the darkness of the dressing room door.

Bursting through the door into the dressing room she grabbed a towel and covered her face with it. Geillis looked at her in horror wondering what she could say to help. Claire’s body convulsed into the towel held firm against her face. She sank to her knees and Geillis ran to help her up. Claire’s arms gently pushed her away and the towel was lowered as she continued to laugh, out of control, like a woman possessed, she laughed.

Claire could hardly breathe, and she clawed at the headdress that was blocking the quantities of air she needed. She finally ripped it, and the wig off throwing them on the couch while she wrapped her arms around her waist, trying to stem the laughing.

“Oh! Oh my God, Geillis. I’ve never had so much fun. That dizzy bastard had a log in his pants and didn’t breathe the whole time I was in front of him. Too bad he didn’t just die right then and there!”

Geillis was quite unsettled with Claire’s level of hatred toward this man and thought Claire needed a new perspective before she lost her mind.

“Claire, it’s not healthy to hate someone that much, ye will never be able to quench yer need for revenge. I think ye need some help with this, truly. C’mon, let’s get you ready for the next show, then home to bed.”

When the spotlight hit Claire for her next dance, she was in bright pink harem pants and a bra top that was covered in baubles. She lifted her arms above her head and spun in circles while she shimmied her hips. When she saw Jamie Fraser sitting at a corner table she moved her arms, pulling him to her, enticing him to take her, as her athletic body promised a once in a lifetime experience of pleasure and carnal love. He watched every move, he heard what the dance promised him. He thought she was beautiful, exotic, and embodied the sexual experience. Claire wore the headdress again that wrapped around her face showing only her eyes. She used them against Jamie like weapons. When the music stopped, she turned her back on him and bowed to the other patrons, shunning him like he wasn’t there.

Jamie raised his arm to the owner and handed over his business card and a one-hundred-dollar bill on which he had written his number. He was finding it hard to breathe suddenly and left quickly.

Claire was giggling at the tips and cards that came in from the owner. She estimated two- hundred dollars in tips tonight plus her pay. Three hundred dollars for thirty minutes of dancing. A month ago it was all she had for the month and that included groceries.

Geillis walked out of the building with a scrubbed Claire in a baseball cap, looking like a bookworm again. The women talked and joked, poking each other with elbows and laughing hysterically. They both carried garment bags and gym bags with all of Claire’s costumes and props. They embraced and separated, neither aware of the eyes that watched the door. Engines were started and the women drove away, leaving Jamie well hidden in the shadows of the parking lot.

He watched closely as patrons emptied out of the restaurant. Where was she, he wondered? He recognized the owner come out as a car pulled right up to the door. Jamie saw two women rush into the back seat, the owner in front, and then they were gone. The restaurant was closed for the night. Jamie concluded the dancer was the owner’s daughter, so he had a bit more information about the woman who stole his soul tonight. The fact he was now stalking her was completely lost on him.

Ordinarily, Jamie Fraser was a gentleman with a strict moral code and impeccable manners. The upbringing from his parents and his Hollywood handsome looks made women trust him and forget their own name when he charmed them. The dancer would fall, straight into his lap, no matter who her father was. Of that he was sure.

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the--highlanders · 4 years

Text

About a Burnt Mess

Jamie finds himself responsible for making a mess in the TARDIS kitchen, and the Doctor tries to help.

on ao3.

“Och – no -” Jamie waved the plumes of steam wafting out of the oven away from his face, blinking and spluttering as the heat of it stung at his hands. “No, no -” He grabbed at the baking tray inside, but quickly whisked his hand back when he touched it, nursing his fingertips ruefully.

“I don’t suppose I could help with that?”

Half-blinded by the greasy orange light of the oven, Jamie cast around helplessly for the source of the voice until his eyes settled on the Doctor. He was leaning nonchalantly against the doorframe, watching Jamie’s struggles with an air of fond amusement, and Jamie was sure his own heat-reddened cheeks were flushing darker.

“Nice of ye tae stand there watchin’ an’ not helping,’ he mumbled around the burnt finger he had stuck in his mouth.

“You seemed to be getting on quite well without me.” Ambling further into the kitchen, the Doctor fished a tea-towel out of a drawer, holding it out like a peace offering. Jamie took it gratefully, bending to pull the tray out of the oven and deposit it on the counter with a clunk. He stood back, crossing his arms and tilting his head to examine the contents.

“It’s not too bad,” he said hopefully.

A blackened flake cracked away from its surface, tumbling down to tuck itself against the edge of the tray.

“Of course it’s not,” the Doctor said. “A little crisp around the edges, perhaps.” He poked at its surface experimentally. “Ah – what is it?”

Jamie tapped at the edge of the tray, turning it a little. The change of angle did nothing to make its contents seem more appetising. “Black pudding. Or it’s meant tae be.”

“Ah.” The Doctor cast a pointed look around the kitchen, and Jamie followed his gaze, wondering what the room looked like to him. Something dark red and dripping was plastered over the cabinets, coating most of the bowls and cutlery that lay scattered over the counters and spilling onto the floor in places. A smudge of it marred Jamie’s cheek, halfway between red and rusty brown, and he reached up to scrub at it when he realised the Doctor’s scrutiny had come full circle back to him. “That would explain the… the blood.”

“Aye, it would.”

The dark, lumpy mass coiled in the tray sat there between them awkwardly, its presence almost as stifling as the cloying metallic smell that filled the kitchen. “Not Victoria’s choice of dish, I assume,” the Doctor said.

“It was, actually.” Jamie grinned. “She had it for breakfast one time – ye remember that big hotel we stayed in? The one with the mantises that acted like they were English.”

“Oh, yes. The Thicyans.” The Doctor chuckled. “I do wonder if they’ll ever find out that England isn’t a tropical country.”

“Aye, them. Well, she ordered some English breakfast, an’ it had – well, it had a wee bit of black puddin’ in it. Then she found out I knew how tae make it, an’ -” He gestured towards the tray. “It’s no’ exactly my best.”

Bending over, the Doctor scrunched up his face to peer at the knobs on the oven. “I still think you set it too hot, you know.”

“If it’s hotter it’ll cook faster.” Jamie swiped the back of his hand over his forehead, leaving another streak of red. “Anyway, when was the last time ye cooked without burnin’ something?” When the Doctor opened his mouth to argue, Jamie held up his hand to silence him. “An’ fiddling around with the wee dials on the food machine doesnae count.”

“Oh, hush. I’ll have you know that I’ve been considered quite talented at working fabricated food technology.”

“It’s still no’ as good as a proper meal.”

“Oh, I see.” Tapping his finger against his chin, the Doctor frowned down at the pudding. “Proper meals like this one, eh?”

“Normally,” Jamie protested. “Normally no’ as good as a proper meal.” He threw a despairing look at the charred pudding before him. “It looks like it’s starin’ at us.”

The Doctor twisted his head back and forth. “Mm. There is something of a face in the middle, isn’t there?”

They stared down at the pudding in silent contemplation for a moment before bursting into laughter. “What am I gonnae do?” Jamie raised his hands to pull at his hair, but caught sight of the blood stuck to his palms and thought better of it. “It took us ages to make that, an’ Victoria was lookin’ forward to it. I dinnae want tae tell her I’ve ruined it.”

“I don’t suppose...” The Doctor frowned at the explosion of bowls and baking tins around them. “I don’t suppose she’d notice if you made a new one.” He was watching Jamie out of the corner of his eye, his smile half-concealed behind his hand. “Even if you had to set the oven to the highest heat we could, to cook it fast enough.”

Jamie shook his head. “No’ enough time. But I ‘spose we can make a start on a new one.”

“Mm.” The Doctor tapped his fingers together, opened his mouth, then closed it again abruptly. “Ah – what do you mean, we?”

“It’ll be easier with two.”

“Oh.” The Doctor glanced around himself, then sighed, shoulders slumping. “I suppose Victoria really did want a black pudding.”

‘Aye, she did.”

“And it would cheer her up immensely to get one sooner rather than later.”

‘Aye, it would.”

“Oh, very well.” Skipping over to the food machine, the Doctor spread his hands over the controls, bracing himself to punch in a code. “Ah – what do you need first?”

“I’ll do it.” Jamie ushered him aside, tapping a few keys and bending down to pull out a fresh bowl of blood. He shoved it towards the Doctor, wincing as it almost slopped over the rim. “Stir those oats in with that. I’ll get everythin’ else.” He busied himself with typing in the next code, his fingers clumsy with haste. The low, constant hum of the TARDIS rose into a whine as he stumbled over it, and he scowled down at the machine until it let out the tell-tale ding of a new ingredient. “Here ye go -” Only when he turned did he realise that the Doctor had somehow managed to spatter more blood than ever onto the bench, speckling the front of his shirt and Jamie’s own sleeve with red. “I’m gonnae have tae clean the kitchen, but I’m no’ gonnae be the one to clean you.”

The sound of someone pointedly clearing their throat drew their attention away from the mess the Doctor had made and towards the doorway. Victoria stood there, her mouth tugged into a slightly resigned smile. “Am I interrupting something?” she asked.

“No!” The word emerged strangled and too-loud, and Jamie swallowed nervously, as if he could drag it back inside himself. “No,” he repeated, his voice full of awkward laughter. “Everything’s fine.” Beside him, the Doctor shoved aside the tray with the burnt pudding. It scraped against the countertop, letting out a soft screech as it went. “We’re just – er -”

“I could smell it from my room,” Victoria said. “I supposed you must’ve burnt it.”

“Oh.” Jamie hung his head, but found himself face-to-face with the failed pudding, and quickly turned away from it. “We were just starting on another one.”

When it came, Victoria’s laughter did not fill him with nearly as much embarrassment as he had feared. “You should have waited for me,” she said. “I would have helped you.”

“We wanted to give you a head-start,” the Doctor said, clapping his hands together. “But seeing as you’re here now – why don’t you come and stir this, Victoria, dear, I’m sure you two are quite capable on your own -”

“I couldn’t possibly,” Victoria interrupted him, exchanging a grin with Jamie. “After all, I made such a mess last time.”

The Doctor cast a desperate look towards Jamie. “I don’t suppose -”

“Och, go on, then.” Ushering him out of the way, Jamie edged over to pick up the spoon. “Ye can get the rest of the things we need from the food machine. Seein’ as you’re so good with it, an’ all.”

“But what’s left for me to do?” Victoria asked.

Jamie grinned. “Ye can mind the oven this time.”

#second doctor #fanfic archive #my writing

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asteraegis · 4 years

Text

i dont know what to say for myself honestly.

for the love of god take heed of the tags before beginning. i really fucked edward up and ive written a smut specifically about choking him out.

its from edward’s POV btw

Tags: Deimos! Alexios/ANGST/mild to moderate violence/assault TW/choking/slapping/M|M/blowjob/cream pie/rimjob/spanking/biting/breathplay/aggressive dom/masochism/sadism/forced submission/rawing/knifeplay/top dom! Alexios/bottom sub! Edward

6122 words.

I felt his stare burning into my skin. Why was he so interested in me?

I had just introduced myself to him as one should to new recruits, that’s all. He had nodded in response, looking down on me with those dark eyes I’ve learned to fear. If I had known Alexios’ past beforehand, well, perhaps I wouldn’t have been so casual when greeting him. This man, he was a murderer of hundreds of people, if not thousands. I mean, I know I’m not one to judge seeing as I was a pirate, but the people I killed then were mainly by canons on a ship, not with my hands. And now I’ve had this brooding shadow looming over me every day since I met him, his glare following me everywhere I go. I’m usually one to confront this sort of behavior, but with the rumors of his temper…

Needless to say, this Alexios fellow would not let me out of his sight. Even in my own room at night with the door locked and curtains drawn I felt his intensity. Had I done something to anger him? Why can’t I shake this brute from me?

However, this night was something different. It had been lashing down rain all day and with dusk approaching the weather still wasn’t letting up. I had been stuck at one of my usual haunts since the afternoon, stopping in originally for a couple quick drinks afore heading home. But being holed up in a pub for so long causes barflies to swarm around you. A couple rough looking gents with scars to suggest they’re naturals at picking fights had been looking me up and down for the past hour and it was beginning to get on my nerves. Figures, I can’t go anywhere without some kind of nasty look tossed my way. I turned my head to look out the tavern’s window at the rain. It had lightened up slightly but that wasn’t saying much. But seeing as I left my phone back at my apartment there really was no reason for me to pissed about being soaked during the walk home. I sighed and handed the bartender a tip.

“Don’t seem like it’s letting up any time soon, mate, I’ll just suffer through it,” I muttered, finishing my third drink of the evening.

“Aye, just don’t drown, Kenway,” he nodded and with that I left the bar.

I had only gone about a block before I heard gruff voices call out and heavyset footsteps approaching with haste. Blast it, those codgers are lookin’ for a brawl, I thought as I looked over my shoulder to confirm my suspicions. Sure enough, the two men from the pub that were glaring at me were chasing after me. I began to run, not in the mood to fight them in a storm and hoping me speeding my pace would cause them to give up. Unfortunately, they didn’t give up and began cackling behind me.

“Where you goin’ blondie?” I heard one of them holler. “We just want to chat!”

I stepped wrong while running and it sent a surge of pain up my left leg, making me stumble a little. I hadn’t fallen, but the mistake did hurt quite a bit. I tried to bare the feeling long enough to turn the next block’s corner into a secluded road only about a block from my apartment. Once I reached the dirt path, I hurried behind a dumpster and massaged my knee. It must have popped from a bad foot placement. A slick sidewalk is never good running conditions, and it doesn’t help that I was wearing sandals. I slowed my breathing, expecting that the men would’ve just ran past this road. That is until one of the blokes took a fistful of my hair and dragged me from behind the dumpster in front of their partner. With his boot pushing me into the sludge I just wanted to slap myself for thinking they wouldn’t see the muddy foot prints I had left behind while I ran for cover.

The one that had caught me kneeled down over my back, lifting my head up to look at the other while restraining my arms. “Well, what d'ya think, man?”

His friend grinned, unbuckling his belt. “Yeah, this punk’ll do just fine.”

Ah. So, it wasn’t a fight they wanted. I writhed under the man and managed to buck him off, only for his accomplice to quickly grab me by the throat and pin me against the wall. He had a sick grin on his face and the sinister aura of it was only heightened by his grey eyes and the rain dripping down his cheeks. The other one punched me in the jaw while grey eyes held me still. I grunted, the hand on my throat flexing.

“Thought you could just run off again, sweetheart?” grey eyes sneered, leaning into my face in a way I’m assuming was meant to intimidate me. “Why don’t you just play along and we’ll let you go when we’re done, eh?”

Now, spitting in those pretty eyes of his probably wasn’t the smartest thing I could have done, but shit, it’s what I did. He grimaced and I managed to knee him in the crotch. He let go of my neck and I began to run off again but his pal tackled me to the ground. He held my face in the mud to stifle my yelp while grey eyes stomped on my ribcage.

“You ugly son of a whore!” he snapped. “We tried to play nice but now I’m gonna kill you and set your body ablaze in that dumpster once we’re finished!”

My head was lifted from the ground so I could look at him. I spat mud out of my mouth and smirked, knowing it’d only piss grey eyes off more. “Like you and your buddy have the stones for that.”

I wonder if he felt strong when he kicked my cheek. It’ll leave a bruise yes but I think me biting his cock off when he tries to force it down my throat will hurt him worse. I regrettably never got to enact my revenge on him though.

“Get off him,” a rough voice demanded through the rain.

I don’t remember much of what happened next. Grey eyes ordered his friend to knock me out so I wouldn’t run off while they dealt with the man. Shame. I would’ve loved to watch the fight.

When I opened my eyes next, I was at my apartment in my bath tub. The curtain was open and a man was standing in jeans and a white tank top. Red splotches dotted and splattered his clothes. He was rinsing his hands in my sink, blood washing off them, his knuckles raw. My eyes explored up his scarred arms to his face and that’s when my heart dropped. Alexios was in my bathroom. Why was he here? Why was I naked? Why was he covered in blood? How had he got in here? I must’ve made some sort of noise trying to figure out what to do about this situation because he looked at me in the mirror. I sunk down in the water, afraid of his plans with me.

“Hmph. You’re awake,” he huffed.

I recognized the voice. He was the man in the alley that intervened. That only brought up more questions in my head. “Why–”

“I hope you don’t mind me letting myself in while you were out–”

“Why am I naked?” I blurted out.

He looked confused about me interrupting him at first, but a snide smile spread on his face. “You were covered in mud, Edward.”

“How’d we get in here?”

“You’ve got keys, don’t you?”

I bit my lip and glared at him. Sass, huh? I studied his shirt again and noticed dirt down his right shoulder. He must have carried me here after giving those blighters what for. Still, I wasn’t sure how I felt about him stripping me while I was out cold. He lifted off his tank top and tossed it in my hamper, using one of my towels to wipe the smudges off his arm. It was my first time seeing him without something over his torso and all I could think was that he was chiseled like a damn statue. He put that rag in the hamper, too, then turned his attention to me.

“You could at least thank me for saving your skin and washing you, boy,” he said, a blank expression I couldn’t decipher on his face.

My ears got hot. He washed me? Just thinking of his hands rubbing down my body… Jaysus… “Uh, right. Thanks.”

He nodded and moved over to stand over me. “You’ve been soaking long enough; I think it’s time we got you out and dried you off.”

Alexios reached down to lift me out of the tub but I squirmed out of the way. “I-I can stand myself, mate. Just… can you fetch me some trousers?”

He huffed, almost seeming disappointed in my competence. After he left the room I stood and dried myself off with a towel. I wrapped it around my waist, bending over to drain the tub. I flinched when I heard the floorboards creak outside the bathroom door. I knew he was standing there but he wasn’t saying anything, just watching me with those shadowy eyes. When I turned around, he handed me some bottoms—a pair of white swim trunks that wouldn’t even reach mid-thigh. I sighed but took them from him regardless.

I went to slide the shorts on but his stare not breaking from me caused my hands to hesitate. “Do you mind, mate?”

“No,” he said, still not breaking eye contact with my skin.

I blushed and positioned myself away from him, but even with my face away from his I could still feel his gaze. I attempted to wriggle into the trunks while I had the towel around my waist but right before I could pull them all the way up it fell to the floor. I hastily tugged the shorts on, now more than ever unable to look Alex in the eye, though based off the low snicker behind me he enjoyed my mishap. Figures. I shifted to have my face toward him but still wouldn’t look at his face. He seemed able to detect that I was unsure of him. From the mirror I was able to spy his grin as his own gaze met mine in the reflection. Against my own wishes my eyes instinctively darted away to the floor and he laughed louder.

“Tell me, blondie,” his voice sounded like a wolf’s growl as he approached me slowly. “do you fear me?”

I didn’t answer him. Both because I couldn’t find the courage to say no and even if I said so I’m sure he could detect I was lying. Now standing inches from me I could hear my heart beating in my ears. I’ve never felt so terrified and I’ve had swords to my throat, been beaten half to death, and survived multiple shipwrecks. I’m not sure what I was expecting him to do to me, but grab my pony tail and wrench my hair down so my neck was straining to look at him wasn’t it. He looked livid with me. I pushed away from him but he shoved me against the wall, the back of my head slamming up against the tiles. I yelped but Alexios slapped me across the face with the back of his hand and grabbed my jaw to keep my eyes focused on him, his fingers digging into my skin.

“When I ask you a question, answer me,” he snarled. “Got that?”

I tried to speak when he asked; I really did. But my body was trembling and it didn’t help when he shook me. I could feel that there was water in my eyes but I couldn’t tell if I actually had started crying when he shook me the second time, I just started shouting out an answer. My voice felt like a foreign object in my mouth, I couldn’t control anything I said to him. “Yes! All right? I am afraid of you mate! And why shouldn’t I be? I’ve heard plenty of stories on how ruthless you are and now I’m pinned to my own wall half naked being shouted at by you, you fucking knave! Now either kill me too or let go of me!”

Alexios stood like a brick wall when I attempted yet again to push him off me. There was nothing in his expression. He was just, watching. His grip on my face didn’t change for what felt like hours so I stared back at him, wondering if he could crush my jaw in his hand. From this close to him, mere breaths away, I studied him as he always did me. Alexios’ eyes were intense, but I could feel there was something behind them, something that almost felt like innocence broken by misplaced trust. He had a scar on his left cheek that cut through the top of his eyebrow. There was sleeplessness under his eyes creating dark circles. With all this mutual observing I wondered if he felt anything looking at me. After an eternity he at last blinked a few times and his hands dropped to my shoulders. His visage softened and I realized I still had my hands pushing against him. When I began to take them away, he suddenly wrapped his arms around me in a hard embrace. My face was pressed into his neck while he held me, his head against mine. I could feel his heart beating against my chest as he made an effort to pull me as close to him as possible. I was baffled. This man just slapped and shouted at me, I just admitted I feared him, I can still feel his fingers and palm’s sting on my face, and now he’s hugging me?

“I… I am sorry, Edward,” he mumbled into my hair. His voice seemed to crack for a moment and I heard him sniffle. Was he crying? “I didn’t mean to harm you, I just… I—I can’t control myself.”

If I was puzzled before I was utterly lost now. “Alex—”

“I needed to know how I made you feel, whether or not you trust me, if you feared my presence. And here I stand, with you shuddering in my grasps. I never wanted you to feel this way, Edward. I—I never wanted you to—I never—”

He was crying, choking on his words like I had before. Was this a confession? I blinked off any tears my fear might have brought in and pushed back from him to look him in the eye. He held his head down but I could still see a tear stream down over his scar. He spoke of me quaking in his arms but nothing compares to the quiver when I took his head in my hands to make him look at me. He appeared so distraught by his own actions. When I moved my hands to his broad shoulders, he slumped against me, something I’ll admit I wasn’t quite ready for. He wasn’t that much larger than me, I’ll admit, but I wasn’t prepared to support his weight and we fell to the floor, half in the hallway and half in the loo. He laid on top of me and I wormed around but it seems his revelation exhausted the man. Sighing, I settled into the floor, pondering how long I’d be stuck there under Alexios. His cheeks had dried from his fit of emotion and his breathing had slowed to a normal pace. I endeavored to run my fingers through his hair, but his dreads were too thick to comfort this brooding baby in that way. I stared at the ceiling with my arms stretched out over my head, questioning why I was even still laying here, I’ve moved men heavier than him off me before. Was I just afraid to wake him? I looked at him sleeping on me. For once I didn’t feel fear from his presence, in fact I pitied him. He clearly needed something like this, though if all he wanted from me was to relax on my body, I felt bad for avoiding him for so long.

I think I may have drifted off a little while we laid on the floor. When I woke up it was significantly darker in the apartment, the only light being the bathroom’s. I must have made some sort of noise or shifted slightly because Alexios suddenly groaned and lifted his chest off me. He had his hands planted on either side of my shoulders and my arms were still reaching above my head on the wood. While we slept our legs had also joined in on this compromising position, my thighs resting over his with his groin against me. We blushed when our eyes met and Alex sat back on his heels to let me sit up as well.

“Sorry about that, Edward,” he said, rubbing the back of his head.

“No worries mate, I didn’t mind it at all!” I laughed, trying to break the tension between us.

Alexios raised an eyebrow at me and cocked his head. “At all?”

“Not in the slightest!” I need to stop talking without thinking.

“Is that so?”

“Yep!” Oh my god.

He seemed to have this queer plan forming in his head. I wanted to bite my tongue off. Considering how he reacted when I was naked earlier, I’m sure me saying I was completely comfortable having him pressing on top of me was only adding insult to injury. He looked me up and down with an inquisitive nature, almost debating his next move. I gulped when I noticed his lips form a smirk. I stayed on the floor while he got to his feet, my body stuck in this pose looking up at him like I was a submitting dog. That snide mien returned to him when he stood over me. I tried to smile at him in the friendliest manner I could, though I think he misunderstood what kind of friend I was trying to come off as.

“Well, in that case, blondie,” he lifted me into his arms in a fisherman’s carry and marched me into my room after turning off the bathroom light. I was dropped on my back in my sheets and watched Alexios hold his belt buckle. “You wouldn’t mind getting to know each other better, now would you?”

I think I put the most thought into this answer of any I said all day. I felt my stare glued to his hands on that buckle and my tongue pushed itself against the roof of my mouth. For the first time since the day I met him I gave him a genuine smile. “No, I certainly wouldn’t.”

He returned me with a satisfied leer, quickly getting to unbuckling his pants, whipping his belt off so swiftly it made a whooping noise. Alexios grabbed me by my ankles and pulled me to the foot of the bed, putting the belt on around my neck like a collar and leash. He didn’t secure the buckle so it felt more like a noose, but regardless I felt ready to melt into anything he put me in, be it this leather strap or a rope. He tugged on the belt and it tightened around my throat, causing me to groan. He sat on the bed next to me and patted his lap for me to rest my head over. I was on my stomach and he placed a hand over my ass whilst his other took his cock out in front of me. He began stroking it to get it fully erect with me watching through a hungry gaze, biting my lip as his fist rubbed down the veiny shaft, his knuckles still raw from his brawl. Once hard, Alexios took the belt to yank me towards his dick and I immediately got to work, my lips kissing his tip before licking it in a circular motion. My tongue traced down his skin then back up to the head and I heard him sigh as I moved my mouth down around his cock. I went slow at first, going straight to the base and from his light muttered swear I could tell he wasn’t expecting I could deepthroat him. I got cocky and began sucking him with more force, moving my head back and forth down him. My showing off seemed to be working for Alex as his hand became snugger on my ass. I moved my left hand down to go to town on my own member, but he noticed me rubbing myself and spanked my ass with the same force he slapped me with earlier. I whimpered and instinctively withdrew my hand, him amused by my retreat.

“Good boy, you’ve been trained well,” he whispered to me.

He’s right, I’ve learned to be wont to being used like this. He spanked me again, and he appeared to enjoy my muffled yelps as he did it again, and again, and again. My skin felt numb and my cock was begging me to stroke it. I decided that if he was just going to continuing slapping me like this I might as well try to rub myself once more, just to see if he was willing to let me. I quickly learned he wasn’t, as when I started moving my hand down once more, he grabbed the back of my head and choked me with his cock, my lips pressed to the base of his groin. I attempted to push my head back so I could breathe but his hold was far stronger than my neck. I began gagging, wondering if he was going to let me breathe any time soon. Perhaps he liked how it felt to have his cock in my throat while I choked. He switched up his hands so he no longer was holding my ass but unfortunately for me he grabbed the belt with his other. Alex pulled it skintight, compressing my throat and I felt tears forming in my eyes. I moved my hands to hold his thigh, digging my nails into him as if to ask him if he was trying to kill me already. There was a low chuckle when I struggled to pull away from him, like he was enjoying my scriking. I was becoming more desperate to move off of him, but it was too difficult with him being so much stronger than me.

“Scared, are we?” He leaned in over me, yanking my head back so I could look into his glare. “Next time don’t touch yourself without my permission, understand?”

I moaned in response to him, hoping he’d finally let me catch my breath. He patted my head and finally released me, my body moving on its own to get away from him, gasping for air while I backed up against the wall on the other end of the bed. Alexios had a wicked grin on his face, grabbing the belt to pull me back to him.

“Aw, I really did frighten you. You’ve got your mascara running down your cheeks like a scared little whore,” he said while wiping my face with his thumb.

I was still winded and with my panic subsiding I began to see red. “You… what the fuck were you trying to do? Suffocate me?”

He frowned, clearly able to detect my irritation with him. “Sorry, I had gotten ahead of myself.”

Alexios was looking down at the floor like a guilty dog and I rolled my eyes, kicking him in the side. “Well shit mate, don’t stop, just give me a damn warning next time.”

I saw his entire body perk up and he shifted around, taking the ‘leash’ in his hand and tugging me closer to him. He noticed me wince from how taut the belt was around my neck and loosened it slightly for me which made me groan again. Honestly, either be rough with me or play nice, don’t keep switching up. I lurched forward and shoved him down on the sheets, kissing him and smiling against his lips at the startled noise he made. I grinded my pelvis over his cock, his hands slapping down on my ass to jerk me into him. I felt his fingers caressing the seam on my trunks but I shrugged it off, not realizing he was looking for the best place to grab a hold of so he could rip open my shorts. It was one quick tear and it’s fair to say I wasn’t ready for it. Alexios grabbed my flesh, toying with it in his palms while I rocked back and forth on him. He kissed me back as he rolled over on top of me, but only for a short time as he soon moved his mouth down to kiss my jaw, my neck, and then my shoulder. At my shoulder, he bit me and I yelped, my hands and legs wrapping around him while he tore my skin. He lapped at the blood from my fresh wound like he was a wolf.

Alexios’ eyes shot me a harsh glance, though before I could think about what that look meant he answered my question with his cock up my ass. I cried out, wishing he gave me more of a warning than just a simple stare before going in raw, but I guess he wasn’t used to being accommodating. He continued this trend of being unaccommodating while he fucked me, his strokes inside me being ruthless and deep. I couldn’t control my voice; I was just a whining mess at his mercy. Alex shook my arms off his back and pinned my arms down next to my head, his weight being pressed into my wrists. My legs tightened around his waist in response to the way he was dominating me, still aching to touch myself but knowing there was no way he’d let that happen. He seemed to love my wailing; his grunts tainted by low laughs. I see his life as Deimos has made him have a fetish for causing pain in others. Hmph, schadenfreude.

I continued trying to free myself, but damn was this guy strong. I couldn’t even manage to lift my pinned wrists, and that’s with the added adrenaline of my ass feeling like it was being torn to shreds by his lack of empathy. Alexios didn’t once seem to want to slow down with me. He just wanted things done his way and couldn’t careless about how much pain I was in. Perhaps I gave him the impression I could take a beating and that’s why he’s been eyeing me the way he has. I could hear his grunts deepening; he must have really been feeling this semi-torture session. His love of completely dominating me made me wonder if he just viewed me as prey, a toy for him to use and then he’d throw me away. The idea of that must’ve turned me on quite a bit as I felt precum from my cock drip onto my pelvis. I’m not surprised I was into being used; I just wish I had standards for how I was treated in bed. Honestly, I wish I wasn’t wincing through this dealing so I could keep my eyes open long enough to properly see the expression on Alexios’ face. What I’d give to be able to watch this beast fuck me before my eyes…

Alex’s speed somehow went faster and his grip on my wrists turned into an almost crushing feeling “Oh god Edward…” I heard him moan.

I swear I was about to bite a hole in my lip. I had bit myself to stifle an actual scream from the pain, but luckily for me after Alexios came I only had to suffer through a few more rough pumps. After those he slowed to a halt, both of us catching our breaths for the moment. I finally got a good look at him, sweat soaking his brow and his cheeks red. He pulled out of me and I felt his cum dripping out of me as he did. He finally moved off from holding my wrists and sat back, looking at the clear hard on in my shorts and the mess he made of my rear. I tried to give him a little simper so he’d know I enjoyed it, but he just kept staring at my bottom with the same gaze I was giving his cock earlier. I gulped, knowing he still wasn’t finished with me.

“Roll over,” he demanded and I obliged with haste.

I had originally been on my hands and knees but Alexios knocked me down to my elbows afore grabbing my thighs. He bit my inner thigh before licking up my leg to my ass where he bit me again. I winced, this guy really liked using teeth, huh? I felt him lick the bite, stinging my flesh before his tongue traced to the rim of my ass. Is… is he going to eat me out?

Well, it wasn’t a question for long. Sure enough, Alexios started lapping away despite having just came inside me. My stomach fluttered, he just kept surprising me. My cock was twitching uncontrollably, I was moments away from climaxing myself. And then he stopped, grabbing my hair by the pony tail, wrenching my body backwards. The back of my head laid on his lap, his gaze meeting min. Alexios wiped his mouth and shot me a jeering leer, sending a shiver down my spine. My heart was beating quickly as his stare moved down my body.

“Look at you, dripping like a girl would,” he taunted, flicking my cock’s head. I yelped which he seemed to like. “Let me guess, you want to cum, don’t you?”

I nodded. I’d want nothing more than to finally finish. He’s been toying with me for so long I felt numb. Usually I’d feel happier about lasting longer than my partner but this was just too much, I was losing my mind.

Alexios took my wrists in his fingers, those rough hands pinning my arms against the sheets. “Beg for it, blondie.”

I didn’t even try to fight him. I just bit my tongue and swallowed any remaining pride I had. “Please, Alex,” my voice was quivering as I spoke but who could blame me, I was desperate. “I want to cum, I need to, please let me, mate, it’s driving me mad. I need it, Alex, I feel numb. Please, please, please, let me—”

Alexios had grinned right before he slapped me across the face. Judging by the laughter, I must’ve done something right. Even so, my skin was left with yet another one of his handprints on it and I only wished he’d stop playing these games and just cut me the least bit of slack so I could just—

A knife pressed up against my throat. Alexios had pulled a switchblade from his pocket while I was recovering from his palm’s burn. My breathing changed to become shorter and more rapid. I could feel the edge grazing my skin. One slip of his fingers and my throat would be cut, be it on accident or purpose, I wouldn’t be able to tell with him. All I had to go on was that same old snide smile. His other hand stoked my hair, twirling strands around. He used the blade to tilt my chin back so I had to look down my nose at him. His thumb graced my cheek in a soothing way, almost making me forget all about the weapon in his other hand.

“You may touch yourself now, sweetheart, but keep those blue eyes of yours shut,” he whispered to me.

My heart rate was still speeding but, somehow, I managed to calm myself enough to shut my eyes and move my hands down to my groin without moving my neck, a feat harder than someone who’s never had a blade against their throat might think. My cock was peeking out the waistband of my trunks so I just finished pulling down the shorts so I could rub myself. The feeling of my fingers finally touching me was pure ecstasy. I bit my lip while I finished myself off, Alex still petting the side of my head. While I couldn’t see his face right now, I knew he was grinning from watching my spray myself with my own semen. As soon as the blade moved from my neck, I began panting like a thirsty dog to catch my breath. He swiped the blade over my abdomen carefully so he wouldn’t slice me while I breathed, though at this point I don’t think I’d have cared if he did.

Alexios patted the side of my head. “Open your eyes, my little puppy, and stick out your tongue. I’ve got a treat for you.”

I opened my eyes slowly, still panting but now with my tongue out I really felt like his mutt. In front of my face he held his switchblade, it glazed with my cum. He wiped the blade over my tongue.

“Good boy. Now, swallow.”

I did, even opening my mouth to show him, which he seemed to get a kick out of. He chuckled, rustling my hair. I smirked back at him; glad to see I had done a good job for him. He leaned back against my pillows and I rolled over on top of him, moving up his body so I could lay on his chest rather than his legs. He looked overjoyed, his forearm over his eyes while he shined a grand smile.

“Hey, Alex,” I said, trying to get his attention without success. I flicked his arm, though he didn’t even flinch. Pouting, I grabbed his jaw and pulled him to face me. “Oi, Alex.”

He looked a little surprised that I had suddenly grabbed him, but he was still grinning. “What, Goldilocks?”

Goldilocks, oh how many times I’ve heard that. “’Fraid I don’t fear you no more, mate.”

Alexios’ fingers brushed through my hair. “Aw, what a shame. Guess I’ll need to reinstate that later, huh?”

I knew I was dancing with a devil at this point, but still I gave him a cheeky smile. “I’d like to see you try.”

He and I shared a fit of giggling banter before falling asleep. When I woke up, the side of the bed he had slept on was empty. I frowned for a moment before hearing clanking coming from the kitchen and him groaning. I snickered, shaking my head. Can’t believe I was scared of him just hours ago. When I stood to go help him out with breakfast, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Torn shorts with cum staining the fabric, bruises dotted my skin alongside a few bitemarks. The worst of these marks were the bruises wrapping around my neck and my swollen ass. The shiner from the kick in the face I took yesterday wasn’t nothing either, but judging by the amount of blood Alex’s shirt was drenched with I couldn’t really complain. I changed my pants to some clean striped boxer briefs before heading into my kitchen where I found Alexios running his hand under water.

I grinned while watching him, walking towards him silently. Once behind him I slapped his ass, making the brute jump and swear. I laughed at his reaction, leaning my body up against his shoulder while he covered his face in embarrassment.

“Come to help me then, blondie?” he sighed.

I pressed my head against his shoulder and wrapped my arm around his waist. “Shit, if you’re really struggling that much to fry a couple eggs.”

He groaned at my snark, though I helped him anyway, not wanting him to burn himself making scrambled eggs again, even though his brief incompetence was kind of cute. The eggs weren’t that bad, just a tad burnt. We parted ways about an hour later, though the next day I saw him those dark eyes looked more afraid of my ability to bounce back from his beating than anything else. At last, it was my stare burning his skin, not his on mine. I grinned at him and his eyes darted away from me. He was scared of me.

Good.

#alexward #alexios #edward #assassins creed #i write #its 5:47am #im so sorry my dear sweet boy #if youre lucky i'll write a smut of you fucking arno instead of the one i want to write where roberts #ya know #tortures you senselessly #yall reading this like 'shit at least it isnt noncon'#acod #ac4

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nordic-breeze · 6 years

Text

Curiosity Killed the Cat They Say – but Hardly is it Mentioned That Satisfaction Brought it Back - an ArthurxFemaleReader OneShot

Arthur catches you poking around in his tent. AO3

WC: 1912

Chop-chop-chop. One more. Chop-chop. And another. It never ends. For the last two weeks, you’ve cut, sliced and chopped more than you thought was humanly possible and you wonder if the chop-chop sound is going to haunt you in your sleep. You tip the cutting board to a 45-degree angle, chucking hacked potatoes into the cauldron with the help of the knife. Before moving onto onions, your least favorite vegetable because of how they burn your eyes, you allow yourself a break. You arch your back and stretch your neck, feeling the summer breeze gently caressing your face. You rub your lower back with light circles, a small grunt escaping your lips.

“It’s a glamorous life eh, the life of an outlaw.”

A smile tugs at your lips, and you turn to the source of the sardonic but benevolent comment.

“So it seems.”

Despite your short time with the van der Linde gang, Tilly had already become a close friend. The best friend you’ve had to be honest. You’re close to Karen and Mary-Beth as well, but with Tilly, you could share anything.

“At least we’re off that mountain,” the young woman smiles, adding dirty plates to the basin. “For a moment there, I was sure we would all freeze to death.”

You agree. After the hasted escape from Blackwater, for what exact reasons you weren’t entirely sure, and being trapped for days in the mountains up west, at a place called Colter or something thanks to a badly timed snowstorm, arriving at Horseshoe Overlook had felt like entering paradise.

Your gaze wanders the new camp site. It’s quiet today. Little Jack Marston is poking at the ground with a stick on the small patch of grass outside Dr. Strauss’ tent with Abigail watching over him. You feel for the boy and wish he had someone his age to play with. Behind young Marston you see the silhouette of Molly overlooking the canyon, no doubt wondering where Dutch has gone off to, light summer breeze playing with her red hair. The aforementioned doctor is sitting in the shade, jotting down notes in one of his many ledgers. Reverend Swanson is still sleeping off last night’s intoxication. You spot Karen and Mary-Beth across the camp, doing laundry under the scrutinizing gaze of Ms. Grimshaw. Lenny’s on guard duty again. You wave at him, which he returns. Behind him, the newest surprise member of your little group, Kieran Duffy, is attending to the remaining horses. From the corner of your eye, you see Mr. Morgan mounting his horse, getting ready to leave the camp site. Had it been only a few days ago, the sight would’ve brought you relief. Ever since you joined the van der Lindes a few days before Christmas last year, you’ve been wary of Dutch’s enforcer and right-hand man, seeing him as crude, ruthless and mean. But as of late, you’ve begun to notice things. Like Jack’s liking of the man and the fondness in his voice when he talks to his horse. You have no problem spotting an animal lover when you see one and Mr. Morgan undoubtedly cares deeply for his horse. And when you and the other girls had joined Bill and Mr. Morgan for a visit into town last week, he’d been so kind to the one-armed war veteran when he thought no one saw or heard. Had you been misjudging him all these months? Your eyes remain glued to the person of interest as he disappears in-between the tree tops.

“He ain’t as bad as he seems, , he’s just - he is a good man. Beneath it all.”

Tilly’s comment catches you off-guard. You’d almost forgotten she was there. Had your eye-tracking been that obvious. You feel a slight tingle in your cheeks and mumble something that’s supposed to be brushing the whole thing off as nothing, making it even more obvious it’s anything but.

“Break’s over, ladies. Back to work.”

Pearson’s gruff voice startles you and you cuss yourself for getting lost in our thoughts, making you a target. You roll your eyes at your friend who gives you an acknowledging grin as you pick two onions for the cutting board.

“You still up for Dominoes later?”

“You bet. And this time, it’s my turn to win,” you insist with a cheeky grin as you and pick up the knife, bracing yourself for the inevitable eye-burn.

“I wouldn’t hold my breath on that if I was you.”

Kitchen duty over and done with, you go to your spot in the girl’s tent for a rest, letting the warm sun kiss your skin. Your mind, and eyes, wanders to Mr. Morgan and his tent. You’d barely spoken to him but as of late, you’ve been thinking about him more than you care to admit. As you’ve come to see a soft and kind side of this gruff and hardened outlaw you find yourself wanting to talk to him but try as you may you can’t seem to find the courage to strike up a conversation, nor do you know what to say. You’ve always been a timid soul, and Morgan’s coarse nature doesn’t exactly help. Recently you’ve asked the others about him. Hosea, Jack, Tilly and Lenny mostly. There was no lack of stories, denoting a complex and possibly conflicted man capable of both cruelty and kindness alike. This did nothing to settle your curiosity, quite the contrary.

Before you know it, you’re on your feet. You tell yourself you’re just going for a stroll to enjoy the view. You just so happen to be passing by Morgan’s tent. You halt, eyes circling the green tarp, remembering Morgan riding off earlier that day. You’re tempted to look around. You know you shouldn’t, but curiosity gets the better of you. Maybe you’ll find something that could give you an excuse to strike up a conversation. So, in an effort to know him better, you enter the tarpaulin to have a look around, thinking he’ll be gone all day. You are wrong.

You start by studying the pictures and horseshoe above his cot. You recognize Dutch and Hosea from many years ago and a man in his late teens or early twenties that’s likely a young Arthur Morgan. You see a mugshot of a man you presume is his father and a picture of a dog. On the counter behind the cot you spot a newspaper clip, which you read, and a picture of a beautiful, dark-haired woman. On the nightstand you find a small, sealed-up glass container, a picture of his mother, cigarettes and hair pomade. The latter surprises you. The tent’s owner doesn’t strike you as the type who would care for that sort of thing. You pick up the container. Inside is a flower with pinkish-red petals. Mr. Morgan is just full of surprises, isn’t he? You lose track of how long you’re standing there, in the midst of Arthur Morgan’s tent, mesmerized by the flower, pondering its meaning to the owner when you hear a gruff voice behind you.

“Lookin’ for something?”

The unmistakable voice belongs to the last person you wanted to hear from right now, resulting in you dropping the sealed box. The sound it makes as it hits the nightstand and falls to the ground makes you cringe and you’re stuck frozen, not knowing if you should pick it up or just bolt. Choosing the latter would only make the situation worse. You barely dare to look in Morgan’s direction.

Both hands on his gun belt, Arthur shoots you that glare under the rim of his hallmark black hat as he’s waiting for you to speak. The words get stuck in your throat. You have no excuse, absolutely no reason for being in here. And you’re still weighing back and forth whether you should pick up that box or not. Dammit, why couldn’t it just have fallen back on the nightstand. Arthur takes one slow step towards you, effectively blocking your escape route.

“Heard you been askin’ questions ‘bout me,” he confronts in that low, half threatening, low-key growling tone of his. “Something’s on your mind, miss?”

Not knowing how to get out of this predicament and no one coming to bail you out you see no other way than telling him the truth. No way you can come up with a believable lie in your state of mind.

“I deeply apologize, Mr. Morgan.” You start rambling, staring down at your hands, unable to hide the tremors in your voice. “It’s just that I thought, when I-I saw how kind you were to that soldier from the war and I-”

Noticing Arthur further closing the distance between you two, you stop rambling, further lowering your head. Just tell him it like it is, fast.

“I-I think- I thought I may have misjudged you and I –“ feeling your knees about to give in, you pause to take a deep breath, your cheeks a burning red.

“Last few days I have really wanted to talk to you but I-I never knew what to say so I thought I’d just look around here and maybe I learn a little more about you, Mr. Morgan.”

By now, Arthur’s face has softened noticeably but you’re oblivious as you still don’t dare to look at him.

"I didn’t mean to invade your personal space, Mr. Morgan. I mean, I just did and, and for that, I am so sorry. I-I know it was wrong of me. Please, don’t be mad.”

Arthur feels a stab of guilt for making you so uncomfortable - and also more than a little flattered that you show such interest in him though he can’t quite understand why.

“You know, you could’ve just asked.”

“Yes Mister, I know.”

Reassurance has never been his strong suit. He’s thinking of how to best assure you that he’s not mad, but the noticeably softer tone in his voice is all the assurance you need. You both concurrently crouch to pick up the box with the flower, resulting in your heads colliding, making an already tense situation even more awkward. A choir of mutual apologies ensue. Arthur puts his hand on your elbow, lending his support as you both rise.

“Oh, leave her be, Arthur. She didn’t mean no harm.”

Finally someone intervenes! Arthur turns to Tilly, giving you a chance to flee, oblivious to Tilly hinting in a not-so-discreetly manner that Arthur goes after you.

You hide behind dense vegetation and sit down on a log near the cliffside, mentally cussing yourself out. Your hands are trembling. No way you could ever look Mr. Morgan in the eyes after this. A shadow to your left makes you lift your head from your palms, hoping it's Tilly coming to offer her moral support. It's not.

“I, eh, Miss Jackson thought I should - I, um, mind if I sit?”

You shrug, not knowing how else to respond. As Arthur sits down, your heart picks up pace. You realize you’ve never been this close to him before. Save from that head-bump a moment ago that is.

“I wasn’t really mad at ya, miss. Lord knows I go ‘round poking my nose in other people’s personal belongings too.”

You feel a little bit better. No, a whole lot better. You give him a coy smile. How had you not notice before how pretty his eyes are? Your companion returns your gawky beam.

“So, what ya wanna know?”

#arthur morgan x female reader #arthur/reader #arthur morgan/reader #arthur morgan/female reader #general audience #cute and awkward #Arthur Morgan #red dead redemption 2 #rdr2

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iwannafuckyexiu · 5 years

Text

A TEASE A DAY BRINGS YOU CLOSER TO DEATH 001

GOTH BOI AND ♪ WALKIN' ON SUNSHINE ♬ contrast man, contrast - from a cold and elegant god to a bright and radiant teenager.

It's a typical Saturday night and Y/N is out getting that cash at Rake, a shady underground bar popular for its big tiddy hostesses and youthful hosts. No, he's not a server there, only a bartender at where all the crowd is at which means shit gets busy as fuck. But Y/N doesn't mind, because who would if they could stare at pretty and refined boys all night plus some nice asses as a bonus.

"So how old are you?" Y/N brings up a question to the young man at the bar. He scans the shelf of glass bottles for the Vodka requested while also continuing, "You look bordering underage."

"I'm literally twenty this year!" babyface defends himself friskily, dust of pink painting over his cheeks, clearly the previous glass of alcohol is getting to his skin.

"Ahahah, well to me you definitely look like a snack to those older women or even men." Passing the glass of Vodka to the young man, Y/N moves closer to his ear and says, hot breath tickling against his skin, "You gotta be careful down here, don't take drinks from strangers and don't ever leave your glass unwatched."

The young man's smile clots for a second. "What about you then? You look about my age, just a little shorter," he changes the subject oddly.

Y/N goes along with it and answers, "Me? I'm seventeen, not legal but this place isn't too, so who really gives a fuck around here."

"Good point." The young man chuckles and inclines in agreement.

"Anyways, you lookin' for any f-"

"Ohohoh!" a raucous laugh cuts off Y/N. From the entrance of the underground bar, a guy in a black cloak smacks the back of the man that came with him, poking fun of him, "This place has some nice looking girls, maybe you wanna try getting yourself some pussy while you're at it here?"

Goth boy clinks his tongue, "Shut the fuck up, Twice. We're here to have a meeting, not fuck around." Head twisting in a stoic demeanour, he lours at his companion, turquoise pupils faint with venom slithering slyly at the edges.

The several guests at the bar hush down for a second, all getting the frigidity from goth boy's tone of voice but soon return to normal, only more wary of their surroundings. Everyone here is familiar with the underground rules - even if you hear something or see something, you don't; mind your own business, or you might end up found floating across a river one day, dead.

Y/N peers at goth boy there from the side of his eyes, pouring the Whisky into the glass for the guest in front of you. A cold beauty. Not mentioning those eyes, albeit his face is wreathed with purple patches, you can still tell that before those stitches adorned his face he was definitely hot as fuck (not saying that he isn't now). Picturing some R18 shit in his mind, Y/N wets his ashen lips with a suspicious shine in his eyes as he ogles at goth boy.

"Tsk tsk tsk, waste of some good looks," Y/N comments under his breath stifled, whilst he joggles the cocktail cups in his hand. He lets out a big sigh at the shame in the form of Facepalm-kun. If he got the chance to spend money on coming here, he'd definitely get like at least ten hosts and hostesses.

Goth boy looks over as soon as Y/N utters out his remark. The latter catches his gaze and gasps, then hastily pretends to not notice the eyes on him while he gives another customer their drink in cold sweat and a stiff smile.

"What's wrong?" seeing goth boy raise a brow at the direction of the bar, dark Kermit curiously questions him as he pokes his head out to see what exactly could make his partner interested except for vengeance.

And just as Y/N thought goth boy's going to maybe come over and beat him up, he only withdraws his gaze and carries on striding straight ahead with a poker face. "Nothing, let's go."

Let's just say that goth boy didn't go beat up Y/N mostly because he thought the bartender wasn't good enough for his fire and he wasn't very much bothered at the moment. Well, there goes one of the only exquisite charmers Y/N has seen in recent days.

Fast forward to after Y/N finishes his shift, around eleven at night, he changes out of his uniform and exits the bar by the back alley door. That night, he walks home with the face of goth boy just zooming through his mind.

、、、

Blotting up his hair with a white towel, Y/N saunters into the living room to find his sister calling him vigorously from the kitchen.

"ONII-CHAN ONII-CHAN!" S/N rushes over to him, footsteps echoing through the house like an elephant just passed by. "A-... a ... hah ..." she tries to speak but her lack of oxygen restricts her as her chest heaves up and down.

"Jesus Christ, calm down man," Y/N rubs her back fondly, "what is it S/N?"

After S/N catches her breath, she clasps onto Y/N by both his shoulders and literally wails in his face, "A letter came in from Yuuei!" She waves the letter in his face, so much that Y/N's vision gets rather muddled up from the action.

"WHAT THE FUCK REALLY?!"

"Who was the one to tell me to calm down?" S/N lifts a brow up, taunting him.

"Ahahahhahhahahah. ... let's just look at the results now," Y/N awkwardly laughs then changes the topic to distract S/N. He tears the envelope open and the figure of All Might appears as a hologram in a sudden which petrifies the two for a second.

"Young L/N, I am here to announce that you've been," drum roll, "accepted into Yuuei! Although stealing a kill from another student isn't a very hero thing to do, you still got the point for it! And also you did help catch a lot of falling students which avoided a great number of injuries for us to heal, so that's a bonus!"

"Congratulations, my child!"

"Holy shit you're in!" S/N yells before she begins bouncing up and down around the house like she's the one who got accepted into Yuuei. After a while, her stamina goes back to zero and she sits herself down on the couch, taking deep breaths. "Onii-chan?" she realises that Y/N hasn't spoken at all after watching hologram, he's just been sitting down in utter silence.

But when S/N sees his face, she lets out a giggle, "Are you crying?"

The male springs up as soon as he hears that, "N-No I'm not! It was just sand okay?" The glossy shine in his eyes makes S/N think otherwise.

"Mhm, sure. Now spill."

Exhaling deeply, Y/N's head droops and his eyelids curtain over any emotions divulging in his irises. He pauses for a while, then says in a low whisper, "I'm just ... happy that I got in despite having such a fucking useless quirk in combat."

"Awh, is this a heart to heart conversation?" S/N is a mood ruiner.

Now the feeling of standing at a railing of a bridge alone and drowning in melancholy is gone, replaced with only the purest urge to give his sister a big ass slap.

"No, now let's go eat and celebrate or something," Y/N responds with a flat tone, clearly just wants to get done and over with the shameful talk. He gets up from the couch and strolls over to the doorway, fishing the chain of keys that dangled on the edge of the shelf to the left of the door.

Chasing after him, S/N tugs on his shoulder, "Don't try to ignore the fact that you were crying and melting, I saw it with my own eyes!"

"What do you want to eat?" Y/N disregards the statement and continues to ask her, successfully taking her attention away from the embarrassing moment that just happened not up to five minutes ago.

"Let's go to McDonald's! It's like five minutes away and twenty-four hours open!" her eyes gleam like stars while she thinks about all the fries she's going to get.

"Okay, now put your shoes on you lazy ass, you're not going bare feet."

、、、

"Woah that's a lot onii-chan, are you sure we can finish this?" S/N's pupils dilate at the amount of shit on the tray that Y/N sets on the circular table.

"Of course, we have you don't we?" Y/N retorts with a mock, a cheeky grin rising on his features as his eyes curl into crescents.

"Onii-chan!" S/N pouts and glares at Y/N, which honestly give him the chills with those shoujo school girl vibes.

"Hey, I remember you!" a voice calls outs. The two siblings turn to find the source of the sound but they only see a blur of yellow dashing towards them, not minding the queer looks that the other customers are giving them.

When the blur of yellow stops in front of Y/N, he takes a while to flip through his gallery of bishounens until he finds one that matches this blur of yellow, "Oh, it's you!" Like his switch has been flicked, his expression alters to one in glee, eyes flaring up.

"Bro!" the boy immediately hooks his arm around Y/N's shoulder like they were on intimate terms and takes a seat with them, joining their table.

Y/N stiffens for a second before relaxing his muscles and gripping sunshine boy's waist back, "Bro!"

"Did you get accepted? The results are out now!" sunshine boy lets go of Y/N shoulder to take a handful of fries from the pile on the tray, taking no attention of S/N glare.

"Of course! Why else would I be here celebrating?" Y/N remarks in an: 'of course I'm here to celebrate and not to cry, what are you thinking man' tone, as his hand mischievously rubs against sunshine boy's waist. And sunshine boy thinks Y/N's hand is ticklish around his waist but he just assumes it is a natural thing to do between guys, so he doesn't mention it.

"Oh shit, I forgot! We don't know each other's name yet right?" Sunshine boy bends over the table and looks up at Y/N from a lower view, enlarged flaxen eyes literally disarming his heart. "I'm Kaminari Denki!" he beams, and Y/N can swear that Denki's background sunlight is so bright that he's actually going blind.

"I'm L/N Y/N, Den-ki~" Y/N trills with devilry, batting his eye at the already red Denki, "Remember that~" He narrows his eyes into a sly smile.

"L/N," Denki makes an effort to not get flaming at Y/N's words as he mutters. But the boy cocks a brow as if saying: 'shouldn't we be on first name basis already?', and don't ask me how but Denki just gets what Y/N's saying.

Sunshine boy tautens then utters with sedate, "Y ... Y/N?" A vivacious smile responds to him instead of any words, but it still makes his heart blossom with warmth. So he returns a sincere smile of his own back.

Absolute harmony is achieved at this moment.

But it just cracks the next second.

"I need sunglasses to block out this fucking treachery," commenting monotonously, S/N spins away from this public display of affection to avoid poisoning her eyes.

Y/N breaks the eye contact (heart connection) with Denki to look across to S/N, "Language, B."

"Hmph," S/N ends the conversation cold and elegantly, twisting her head away from the two gayass shitheads that say they're 'bros'.

Silence.

"So ..." Y/N starts, dragging out the end of the syllable.

"So ...?" Sunshine boy tips his head, repeating after the boy with a smile that kind of says: 'I am planning something bad'.

Y/N continues, "Can I get your number?" He props up his elbow on the table and lays his chin in his hand, from head to toe just screaming wicked charm (fuckboy).

"O-Oh, sure! I'll help you type it into your phone and you can type yours into mine." Denki fishes out his phone from who fucking knows where, keys in the passcode and slide it over the table to Y/N.

The latter does the same, but instead says, "1708, remember my passcode~" To which Denki just calmly replies to with a: 'of course~'. Sunshine boy's just used to it by now enough to stay thick-skinned it seems.

"That's a sexy home screen, the boobs are nice."

"Hahaha ... yeah ..." Denki laughs awkwardly and refuses to look at Y/N because he's sure that the asshole's probably got a shit-eating grin on his face.

After a session of both boys poking fun at each other with their contact names for people, they finally switch their phones back. And almost immediately they ask in unison.

"Pika pika?"

"Your future b-b-boyfriend?"

Y/N doesn't respond, he just nods as he props up his elbow, laying his chin in hand and smile at him with dote.

That continues for quite some time until Y/N's sister couldn't take it and breaks Y/N out of the gaze that is making Denki awkward, "Onii-chan stop staring at him, it's creepy." Denki, the subject of the gaze, just remains tranquil and zen - though the red tips of his ears sells him out.

"Cute."

Denki is screeching internally.

、、、

"Oh shit, I gotta go!" Denki yelps after he takes one look at the time on his phone, he briskly delves out a one thousand yen bill from his pocket and sets it on the table, "here's the money for the food I ate, I'll see you next time!"

"Well, I'll see you in April then," Y/N pauses then grins from ear to ear and continues in a lower voice, "Denki."

Doki.

DOKI DOKI DOKI DOKI.

DOKIDOKIDOKIDOEJHFIuUEIofihesou.

Even after he leaves the place, his rapid heartbeat doesn't seem to slow down one bit. Every pound hits the g-spot of his heart, making him clutch chest as he suspires by the side of the road, the aftertaste just cuffing him out now.

"Okay, my heart totally didn't skip a beat because of a guy, nonononono," Denki attempts to convince himself, holding his head between his hands just mentally breaking down. "I am as straight as a pole."

"As straight as a pole!" He clenches a fist and lifts it up high in the sky.

But poles can bend too, his mind says.

Shit.

"I AM A TITANIUM POLE!"

TO NOTE

i feel accomplished as fUck man, i finished a chapter in a day aHAhaha.

NOT PROPERLY PROOFREAD AGAIN

#bnha #boku no hero academia #mha #my hero academia #bnha x reader #bnha x male! reader #bakugou katsuki #todoroki shouto #midoriya izuku #kaminari denki #reader insert

37 notes · View notes

your-iron-lung · 5 years

Text

No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross 10

aka ‘The House That Dripped Blood’; available to read on AO3 HERE

Story Synopsis: Some weird low-key occult parties start popping up that Steve can’t in good conscience ignore and takes it upon himself to investigate. Billy gets caught up in the consequences of his meddling, and isn’t it funny? For all the strange things the Upside Down has thrown his way, it’s werewolves that Steve has trouble accepting exist.

Chapter Word Count: 7927

Pairings: Eventual Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington

Genre: Supernatural/Drama/Horror-ish

Previous Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Next Chapter: 11

Notes: if you follow me you may have noticed i havent posted in a while- this is bc i spend all my time playing ffxiv instead of setting aside determined amounts of time to spend on writing/drawing and i have a bunch of artist alleys coming up that im ill prepared for and im terrible at budgeting UH YEP bad excuse but WHAT CAN YA DO here we are

(ive also set up a ko-fi account if you want to give drop me some tippy tips if u enjoy the word things i do) ((no pressure tho))

"Bigfoot."

Hopper leaned back in his chair; let it creak and groan under his weight until he knew it was at its limit, and then pushed it a little more. He studied the no-nonsense expression on the hunter before him, and intrinsically knew that the man was speaking truth.

"Bigfoot," the old man said again, speaking a little sterner than he had before once he recognized Hopper's amiable expression of disbelief. "I seen't him out in the woods just the other day."

The aging man had lumbered into the police station almost immediately after Hopper came in, bundled in some worn hunting gear that looked almost as old as he was. The deputies had offered to speak with him after hearing his initial claim, but they'd been refused when Callahan couldn't stop smirking. The old hunter had insisted on speaking with Hopper, who leaned forward now, taking the stress off of his chair to take a sip of the coffee Florence had brought in for him. He didn't look at the old man as he drank.

"So let me get this straight," Hopper began, setting his coffee aside to rub at his forehead, "you came in first thing in the morning worried about a missing friend of yours, but now you're telling me you're worried about Bigfoot."

"You know me, Jim," the hunter said, a slight hint of pleading desperation edging out of his voice. "You know I ain't some crazy old coot. I ain't seen Lamm in a long while, and yessir I'm worried 'bout him, but when I went out to his cabin to check on him I seen it: I seen Bigfoot!"

As incredulous as the claim was, Hopper believed him- not about it being Bigfoot, exactly, but he believed that the man had seen something out there in the woods, and it had the possibility of being that something he'd spent the last two weeks fruitlessly searching for.

Regardless, he didn't want to let the old hunter know he was taking him seriously. The last thing he needed was for his community to think he believed in this sort of nonsense, but people in town were going missing, and people he knew were getting hurt: if his only lead should turn up in the form of an old man believing he'd caught sight of an urban legend, then so be it. He'd follow it through, but he'd be subtle about it.

"You sure it wasn't just a trick of the light or something, Wes? You know your eyes aren't what they used to be," Hopper remarked casually, softening his voice to let him down easy. "And this isn't the first time Lamm's gone missing; you know he's one of those types of shut ins. Remember those weeks he was gone hunting 'vampires'? He's the kind of guy who lives in his own head more than he lives out here, he'll turn up again on his own time."

The hunter's lips twitched into a frown. "Alright, maybe Lamm is a little off kilter," he relented, averting his eyes for a second, "and maybe it weren't Bigfoot, but the tracks it left were huge 'n mighty, by God, and I ain't seen nothin' else like it before. If it weren't Bigfoot, then at the very least it had big feet, Jim, and I ain't never seen feet quite like 'em."

Interest piqued, Hopper became more attentive. "How's that?"

"Well, they was stretched out lookin', for one." The hunter paused, tilting his head slightly as he tried to recall the details of what he'd seen out in the woods. He held his hands up, spaced apart in an approximation of how long the prints he'd found had been. "Human lookin', almost, which is what had me thinkin' it coulda been Bigfoot. They weren't the tracks of somethin' native 'round here, and I only caught but the barest glimpse of it, but it was tall, Jim; taller'n you or I."

That sounded right; the prints he'd found and unsuccessfully tracked were, as the hunter said, 'huge 'n mighty' and matched the description of what he'd just been told. It didn't take an expert's opinion (though he had consulted one) to discern that the markings just weren't natural. Hopper set his mug of coffee aside and pulled out a notepad from one of his desk drawers. He uncapped a pen and held it to the page for a moment before writing down a few preliminary notes for himself on the top line.

The hunter cocked his head and leaned forward to look at what he was writing and said, "That don't look official."

"Because it's not; this one's just gonna be between us, alright?" Hopper said, looking up to meet Wesley's blue, watery eyes. He held the stare long enough to get his point across, waiting for a sign of affirmation before looking back to the notepad and pressing the tip of the pen to the paper. "Tell me where and when exactly you saw this 'Bigfoot' of yours."

The day was cold and grey at its start, with harsh, biting winds ushering in thick clouds that blocked out any hope of the sun ever making an appearance. Steve eyed the sky apprehensively as he made his way back to his car, wary of the way the clouds looked as though they might start dropping hail on him at a moment's notice. Billy feigned disinterest as Steve opened the rear passenger door and leaned in to shove the box of things he'd bought at the Hunting & Camping store into the backseat. Even with his vision obscured in part by the sunglasses he'd elected to wear, he didn't miss the strong look of annoyance that graced Steve's features when he came around to the driver's seat and entered the car with a pout.

"That guy give you a hard time or something?" Billy asked as Steve buckled in and put the BMW into reverse, turning in his seat to hastily jerk the car out of the parking lot. "Why do you look like someone shit in your cereal?"

Steve clicked his tongue. "He just kept asking what a 'kid like me' needed with a bunch of chains and rope and shit. My god, he just would not let it go, like he thought I was trying to build my own sex dungeon or something. Fucking annoying."

"You mean that's not what we're doing?" Billy asked, grinning a bit at the way Steve's face pinched up in disgust. "What'd you say?"

"I told him the truth; said it was to tie up a werewolf. 'It's a full moon tonight, y'know? Gotta tie 'em down or they go all crazy on you', I said to him, and you know what he said to me then?" Steve asked, speeding out of the little downtown shopping area Hawkins played host to and sounding every bit as gossipy as Carol did when she caught wind of a scandal.

"How the fuck would I?" Billy drawled, turning away from the conversation to watch the scenery pass by disinterestedly.

"He said, 'Damn fool kids will never learn'," Steve said, ignoring him. "'Damn fool kids will never learn', like, what the hell does that mean?"

Billy shrugged. "Who knows? As long as he accepted daddy's plastic then what does it matter?"

Steve clicked his tongue again in annoyance and rolled his eyes. "Fuck you."

Feeling the beginnings of a headache coming on, Billy declined to retort. They rode on in silence, the chains in the box Steve had bought clinking together softly in the backseat before the radio was finally turned on to mask the sound.

Regardless of whether or not Steve actually believed something was going to happen to Billy that night, he couldn't deny that the whole day leading up to that evening just felt… off. From meeting up with Billy earlier that afternoon to go by the camping store, to grabbing lunch together before heading over to the Henderson's house, it all felt wrong.

It was something Steve had difficulty pinpointing the origins of, but as they began work on clearing out enough space in the cellar for Billy to do whatever it was he thought he was going to do, he soon came to realize that the feeling of wrongness seemed to stem from Billy himself.

Few words could better describe Billy than 'annoying' or 'smart-mouthed', but he'd been uncharacteristically tight-lipped all day. He'd become a remarkably dull version of himself, and Steve wasn't sure quite how to handle that.

Usually one to argue and bite back at everything Steve said, when he'd begun dishing out instructions on how best to clear out some floor space in the cellar, Billy hadn't talked back to him a single time; merely lit a cigarette and blinked at him slowly, silently acknowledging what had been asked of him before getting on with it.

It was unsettling. Steve could almost say that he hated how submissive Billy was because of how used he'd gotten to the back-talk and smart-ass remarks Billy usually had ready for him, and though, yes, there were times he had wished for this kind of attitude from him, the silence and absolute subordination coupled with all of the other behavioral changes Billy was exhibiting were enough to set Steve on edge.

Billy kept tonguing the gaps in his teeth where they'd fallen out over the course of the week, and he never seemed to realize he wasn't alone. Sometimes he'd jump at the sound of Steve's voice, or shake his head and crease his brow in confusion when he turned around to see Steve moving stuff somewhere behind him, but arguably the worst part of it all was that he stank.

He'd tried to mask it with an overabundance of cologne that had nearly suffocated Steve when they began working in closer quarters, but buried beneath that was a hint of something that smelled awfully rotten. If he had to, Steve could liken it to the stench of the monster they'd encountered in the woods, but he chose not to, instead chalking it up to a severe case of nervous b.o. or something. The implications that the scents could be related bothered him too deeply to believe, and even then he wasn't sure he really wanted to know what the source of the smell was.

The stench of decay emanating from Billy's person was worrisome enough on its own, but with so much to do in order to get ready before sunset, Steve had a hard time figuring out where to primarily apply his focus: there were simply too many things going on for him to worry about one thing more than another.

The giant hole in the wall that Dart made to tunnel out of the cellar was his immediate concern, but Dustin had done a good job of hiding it from his mother by placing a tall shelf in front of it, essentially blocking it off. That didn't mean it wasn't entirely inaccessible, but Steve wasn't sure what more he could do about it. In all honesty, he'd forgotten about it until he'd tried to move the shelf aside and then found himself peeking into the eerie tunnel. He'd knocked over several things in his haste to put the shelf back in place, but Billy hadn't seemed to notice it, and if he didn't, maybe he wouldn't think to use it if- or when- he lost himself to whatever supernatural effects he was experiencing.

"Big if, though," Steve muttered aloud to himself. Turning away from the shelf, he looked over to where Billy was inspecting some old power tools, turning a nail gun over in his hands before setting it back in the box he'd pulled it out of. "So, are we good or what? This baby-proofed enough for you?" Steve asked, startling Billy out of whatever ruminations he'd been lost to.

Billy looked at Steve blankly, face impassive and emotionless. He frowned, and then looked around himself as though he'd forgotten where he was. When he spoke, his voice was monotone and devoid of his usual arrogance as he said, "I don't know, Harrington; is it?"

"You tell me, man, this was your idea." Steve watched as Billy returned his focus on the box of tools he'd originally been rummaging through. Picking up a hammer, Billy balanced its weight in his hands before gripping the handle tightly. Steve distrusted the look in Billy's eye as he held it. "What are you, a child? Quit rifling through their shit, put it back," he said.

Billy didn't reply or even acknowledge that he'd heard him. Ignoring Steve's demand, he stepped up to the abandoned work bench to splay his left hand out over the wood and lifted the ballpeen up.

"What the fuck are you doing? Put it down," Steve said again, his voice rising slightly in pitch when he understood what Billy was doing. He started towards him in an effort to stop him, but halted when the hammer was brought crashing down.

It missed his hand, but the force of the impact splintered the wooden table's surface. Steve gaped as Billy turned around, a cocky little smile turning up his lips.

"Someone could get hurt real bad down here if they weren't careful, huh, Harrington?" he said, a fierceness that Steve hated to admit he'd missed charging his voice. "But we've been real careful cleaning this shithole out, haven't we, pally?"

"You sick piece of shit, give me that," Steve snapped, snatching the hammer away from Billy's pliant grip. "Fuck you, Hargrove; you could've just said you wanted to move this shit out of here."

"Had you pegged as being more of a visual learner," Billy sneered as Steve threw the hammer back into the box of tools. "Your concern was touching, though, really."

"You're the one who came asking me for help, fuckface. Begged me, almost, if I'm remembering right. 'Oh, Steve, help me, I'm so scared of fake movie monsters!'"

Steve hadn't meant to rise to the taunt, but Billy's insufferable attitude had him stooping to his level as he hoisted the hefty box of tools in his arms and lugged them over to the stairway. Billy laughed dryly at Steve's mocking tone.

"We both wish that fucking thing had been fake," he said as Steve placed the box on the ground at the foot of the stairs beside the box of supplies he'd bought earlier. They were both quiet for a moment, their attempt at a conversation dying as quickly as it had been brought on.

"Only one thing left to do then," Steve said morosely.

Billy blinked and turned to face the stairway, eyes rising slowly up to where the cellar doors were propped open wide. Steve felt the guilt of having to lock him in prematurely and had to remind himself that he wanted to be locked in.

"Better hop to it then, Harrington," Billy said lowly, lips curling back into a familiar grin, but without all his teeth in place to flesh it out, Steve found the display to be more unsettling than annoying. "Let's get this sex dungeon set up."

Steve grimaced. "Not even in your wildest dreams, Hargrove."

"Nothing's off the table in my dreams, pretty boy." Billy breathed out a small laugh at the disgusted look on Steve's face, but the grin he'd been displaying slowly fell away. "Is it getting dark yet?"

"Uh, kind of, but the sun hasn't set yet," Steve replied, stepping up into the stairwell to check the status of the sky. It was as dull and grey as it had been all day, the overcast weather acting as a harbinger for the snowfall the local meteorologist had foretold was coming. "If you took off those fucking sunglasses you'd be able to tell."

"These are for your benefit as much as mine," Billy snapped, frowning suddenly.

"Yeah, okay, whatever that means," Steve said dismissively as he began to fish out the cords of rope from the box, letting them spool out onto the ground before gathering them into his hands. "How do you uh, how do you want to do this?"

"Aw, is this kitten's first time tying someone up?" Billy purred, not moving from where he stood in the middle of the cellar, directly under the light. "Who knew 'King' Steve's favourite flavor was vanilla."

Steve rolled his eyes as he brought the ropes over, wrinkling his nose at the mixed smell of rot and cologne that got stronger with proximity. "I've dated girls kinkier than you'd know what to do with," he retorted as he gestured for Billy to hold out his hands.

"Oh please," Billy said with a snort, "there are no kinky girls in Hawkins or I would've found them by now."

"You're obviously not looking hard enough," Steve muttered in response, gesturing again for Billy to hold out his hands.

Shrugging out of his leather jacket and tossing it over the work table he'd splintered, Billy held his hands up obediently and watched stoically as Steve wound the rope around his wrists, binding his hands together roughly.

"What's should our safe word be?" Billy teased, smirking as Steve wound another, longer length of rope over the original knot.

"There is no safe word because this isn't a sex thing!" Steve insisted angrily.

Flustered, he sighed irritably as he wound the long part of the rope around Billy's waist, hating how close he had to get in order to make sure the rope was tight enough, though Billy seemed to be enjoying how close he'd gotten. He kept shifting his weight around, trying, it seemed, to get Steve into a more compromising position. Annoyed, but determined to finish, Steve did his best to ignore Billy's constant movement and the disgusting, rotten musk that was wafting off of his person to finish tying him up.

"Why do you fucking stink so goddamn badly?" Steve finally asked with a scowl, repressing the urge to gag as he tied the ropes off into a clumsy knot. He stumbled away from Billy, reaching up to pinch his nostrils shut so he wouldn't have to smell the rot anymore, but the rancid scent seemed to have lodged itself deep into his nose. "You smell like a dead Calvin Klein model or something, holy shit, did you use a whole fucking bottle?"

The amusement Billy had held while taunting Steve left his face. His smirk shrunk into an awkward grimace as he looked away in embarrassment.

"I don't know, alright?" he admitted bitterly. "It doesn't matter how much I bathe, and between that and my eyes I have no idea what the fuck's going on with me."

"What about your eyes?" Steve asked hesitantly, unsure if he really wanted to know the reasoning behind why Billy had insisted on wearing sunglasses all day.

Billy faltered for a moment, hesitating briefly before reaching up and plucking the sunglasses off his face. With both hands bound together, he awkwardly folded the legs against the lenses and tucked them into the collar of his button up. He turned his gaze to Steve, who couldn't help but suck in a slight breath of surprise.

His eyes were so bloodshot they looked ready to start bleeding straight out of the sockets. There were hardly any whites left in the sclera to be seen as Billy winked at him, looking immensely uncomfortable at the way Steve was gaping openly at him.

"Do they- hurt? Or whatever?" Steve asked, unconsciously taking a few steps forward to get a better look. In the dim lighting of the basement, even the blues of Billy's eyes looked reddish.

"What's it to you if they do?" Billy snapped, suddenly irritable. He squared his jaw and looked away, unable to face the amount of concern Steve was showing him.

The worry Steve felt for the both of them in that moment grew stronger as he backed off, letting the matter of the changes in Billy's physicality drop, despite how alarming they were. "If I don't hear anything an hour after the sun goes down, I'll let you out," Steve said abruptly as he walked backwards towards the stairwell, grasping for the hand rail behind him blindly, unsure why he was so reluctant now to let Billy out of his sight. It was what they'd agreed upon earlier, and he said it meaning for it to sound reassuring, but the way Billy's lips twitched made it apparent he didn't interpret it that way.

Billy didn't respond.

"Well, uh, I guess that's it then," Steve said as he bent down, placing his box of chains atop the box of tools Billy had been messing around with before lifting them up together to carry them up and out of their man-made dungeon.

The cellar doors shrieked loudly as they were closed, a high pitched agony that erupted when the metal grinded against itself uncooperatively. Steve didn't mind that so much as he hated the sound the chains made as he wove them through the door handles, reminding him of what he was doing and who he was imprisoning as the steel rattled sharply against the doors. He winced at the commotion, but continued to loop them through the small door handles until no more could be fit between them. He tested their sturdiness by attempting to pull them open, and to his pleasure, they remained shut. The doors were secured; the cellar, as far as he was concerned, was now a suitable prison. All that was left of him now was to play the role of the jailor appropriately.

He stared down at his handiwork for a moment before the cold, blowing winds prompted him to seek shelter. Already a few snowflakes were fluttering out of the sky, flying into his cheeks as he turned away, re-gathering the box of tools in his arms and headed for the door Dustin promised he'd leave a key for.

Searching under the backdoor mat, Steve found the promised key, and true to the rest of Dustin's word, the entire home was empty, save for the cat that chirped a greeting for him from atop the kitchen counter. With a deep intake of breath Steve glanced at his watch, stepped inside, and shut the door behind him, wondering if he really was prepared for the worst. In the trunk of his car his bat waited for him, ready to be put to use just in case shit really did hit the fan, but he found himself questioning if he'd really be able to use it; bludgeoning monsters to death was one thing, but turning it on a boy he knew was only a monster figuratively was something else entirely.

For both his and Billy's sakes, he hoped it wouldn't come to that.

Shrugging out of his thick coat, Steve set it down beside him as he took a seat on the Henderson's couch. He glanced at his watch again, dismayed by the fact that time wasn't progressing as fast as he wished it was and sat in anxious worry about what the rest of the night might have in store.

But at least he was comfortable and warm.

The cellar was not.

It wasn't the cold that Billy minded, so much as it was the anticipation: when would the transformation start? Exactly at sundown? A little before? A little after? Would he actually end up transforming? And why the fuck did the word 'transform' make him so damn uncomfortable? The unknown factors surrounding his circumstances were almost worse than any of the physical symptoms he'd been experiencing as of late, and he'd been experiencing a lot.

Anxiety wasn't something Billy had a lot of experience with, but it was the only thing he could think of that explained why his heart had been beating oddly all day. It was running at a notably higher rate, as though he'd been playing basketball or working out extraneously, and brought on palpitations he wasn't used to dealing with at the elevated speed.

In short he felt terrible. His whole body ached like it was going through puberty again. Both his arms and legs were sore in ways that mimicked the aches that came with growing pains when he'd had them, but he couldn't understand why he would begin to hurt in that way again. He hadn't had the energy to work out in two days despite eating practically anything he could get his hands on, so the soreness in his limbs was unwarranted. Either his body was preparing itself for the coming night, or he was having an incredibly drawn-out heart attack.

Standing at the foot of the stairwell, Billy felt the cold permeating in through the closed opening and moved away to find a better spot to wait. He wanted rub his arms to bring some warmth into them, but couldn't with the way they were bound. Already the ropes were beginning to dig into his wrists, rubbing uncomfortably against his skin as he realized he wasn't actually that cold anyway, despite the frigid weather; his body temperature had been on a steady incline leading up to now, leaving him with a rosy complexion and a near constant fever, the long-term effects of which left him feeling severely disoriented.

He could barely remember meeting up at Steve's house only a few hours ago to carpool to his kid friend's house, riding with the windows down in spite of the severe wind-chill as they went into town to get lunch and buy rope. Even though they'd ridden together, he couldn't remember now if they'd actually talked about anything or not. All he could remember were the low tones of the radio and the resonating throbs of the wind as it swooped in through the open windows, rushing to fill the audial space between them. It was as though his mind had been steeped in a fog, and he couldn't accurately think through it: everything was clouded over, incomprehensible, like waking up the morning after a bender and being unable to remember everything he'd done the night before, but knowing all the same that he'd taken part in some memorable shit.

Would there be pain, he wondered, and would it come on as suddenly as it had to the character in the movie he'd made Steve watch? Even though 'American Werewolf' was just a movie, stories like that had to spawn from some sort of truth, didn't they?

The dim little lightbulb that hung overhead flickered briefly, drawing Billy's attention to it as he took a seat at the work table's bench, wishing his eyes weren't a dry and sore as they were.

Coming from above, he could hear the muffled sounds of a TV show permeating through the cellar's ceiling. He couldn't help but think ill of Steve in that moment, but if their situations had been reversed, he probably would have been doing the same thing; he couldn't fault Harrington for finding a way to pass the time, though he wished he had something similar to do for himself. There was nothing interesting to hold his attention, and time passed at a dreadfully slow rate.

Stretching out on the bench, he laid himself down slowly, mindful of which parts of his back hurt the most, and gazed up at the cement overhead disinterestedly. He listened to the muffled sounds of the distant television, trying to conjure an image in his mind that corresponded with what little dialogue he could hear, but the rapid beating of his heart overpowered the noises coming from the TV. He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing in an attempt to lower his heart rate, but it just kept going, pounding in a determined rhythm that seemed to be quickening with each passing minute. A bead of sweat trickled down from his scalp and over his ear as he wondered if the tingling he felt in the tips of his fingers was because of the cold or from the ropes being tied too tight.

He flexed his fingers, opening and closing his hands into a fist to try and bring sensation back into his fingertips, but to no avail. They remained numb, and the cause of which eluded him.

Frowning, Billy stiffly sat up and began to pinch at his skin, belatedly realizing that the numbness was spreading slowly down the lengths of his fingers, a sensation that sent a chill running down the length of his spine.

"Oh," he said. "Oh shit."

The pain, when he finally did begin to feel it, started in his feet. There were still thirty minutes before the sun went down.

Billy licked his lips nervously as he tried to get his boots off, his numb fingers and bound hands fumbling uselessly with the laces as the pain centralized in his toes and grew in sudden intensity. He was no stranger to pain, but this was unlike anything he'd ever felt before: it was sharp and stabbing, with each throb of pain stemming from the bones in his toes, as though they were growing more pointed in an attempt to pierce their way through his skin as they elongated. He could feel them cracking; each joint slowly popping free of itself as the bones began to push themselves forward.

"Oh, shit," he repeated, and could hear the muffled sounds of a laugh track from whatever sitcom Steve had turned on upstairs roaring in delight as he struggled to finally pull his boots off.

The stabbing sensation didn't relent, even once his shoes lay discarded by his feet. He peeled away his socks with shaking hands and stared down at his toes.

They'd turned a bright, beet red and were bulging like they might burst apart, his skin bubbling up around toenails that were already starting to peel off. He couldn't help the whimper as he tentatively felt them, a pain like touching a freshly popped, skinless blister causing him to draw his fingers back.

It was real. It was happening.

Sweating freely now, he reached away from his feet to brush his dampened hair away from his forehead as sweat rolled down the sides of his face. He paused when he felt his hair pull free from his scalp, clinging to the back of his hand stubbornly. Billy stared at the loose, curly strands with a horrified expression and reached up with a shaking hand to grab more. When he pulled, a handful of his hair came away easily, eliciting another whimper from deep within his throat. Disgusted and frightened, he threw his hair away to the floor.

Breathing quickly, he hastily rubbed his hands free of the loose strands in a panic and tried to calm himself. His whole body trembled as he breathed in deeply through his nose, wondering if he should try to call out to Steve to alert him that the worst case scenario was indeed unfolding. Another laugh track from upstairs came through the ceiling as he felt a sharp, sudden stab of pain in his ribs, prompting him to gasp loudly and curl forward over himself. He could actually feel some part of his ribcage shifting inside his torso as he tucked his arms in to his sides. Any lingering thoughts of trying to remain calm left him as he transitioned from panic to full on fear.

He stood up not knowing what he was going to do, but regretted it instantly: as soon as he put weight on his foot, his ankle collapsed in on itself and brought him to the floor. A shout almost came out with his fall, but he managed to internalize the pain as he was used to doing and grit his teeth as his foot essentially broke itself in half.

The central part of his foot that arched snapped without warning. Billy swore loudly and reached for his foot instinctively, wanting to hold the break in place, but he couldn't bear the agony that came with the contact. Warm tears leaked from his eyes, and when his other lateral arch also split in half, he couldn't help but cry out.

From up above, the noises coming from the television ceased. Steve must have heard him and was listening for him now, trying to gauge whether or not he should intervene. Billy clenched his jaw tighter, determined to keep quiet, but gasped loudly when two of his molars gave out under the pressure, snapping to the side and coming loose of his gumline. The copper taste of blood filled his mouth as he spat the teeth out, shuddering uncontrollably when he felt the vertebrae in his spine begin to pop, one by one, pushing up against his skin that was quickly beginning to feel too tight.

Huffing in great breaths of air, he panted heavily as the bones of his tones finally pierced through his skin, causing most of the flesh surrounding them to burst open like little balloons. Blood splattered across the floor in gruesome, miniature arcs and Billy finally, finally became undone. He shrieked, unable to keep silent any longer as new appendages could be seen inside the flayed bits of bloody skin, slowly growing outward, already a part of him.

Warm tears of pain streaked down his face in thick lines as the skin of his feet continued to be ripped apart, making way for more muscle, new flesh. He wiped at his eyes helplessly and thought he could hear Steve's voice distantly calling out his name, asking if everything was alright.

He blinked, his vision blurred by the tears that would not clear away as he pulled himself over to the stairway.

Shaking wildly all over, Billy stretched out on the floor, realizing belatedly that the waistband of his jeans was growing tighter and tighter. Hissing sharply, he cursed himself for not having the foresight to undress himself as he hastily tried to undo his belt. A pain similar to the initial agony he'd felt in his toes was beginning to manifest itself in his fingers as both of his hands slowly began to turn red, swelling up under the bonds of the rope as he fumbled with the buckle, desperately trying to get it to come free.

"Fuck!" he shouted in frustration, his clothing growing ever tighter as his body continued to bloat. He felt like he was being pinched in half with his belt acting as an unneeded tourniquet. "Fuck! Fuck!"

"Hey! Talk to me Hargrove, what's going on?"

Steve's worried voice trilled down through the cellar doors as he continued vocalizing his frustrations. Billy felt an organ in his abdomen shift out of place before popping, prompting him to groan and curl in on himself before he threw up. His couldn't undo his belt as his vision began to darken.

"Hargrove!" Steve shouted, banging a fist against the steel door. "What the hell's going on? Talk to me!"

"Fuck you!" Billy screamed, unable to articulate anything else as he tried to rub the blackness out of his eyes, but the more he pressed his fingers to them, they more they began to hurt.

A pressure was building up behind them the more he rubbed, and as it increased, his vision grew ever darker. He kept blinking, over and over, feeling his eyes bulge out of their sockets and against his eyelids, trying now to keep his eyeballs in place. He was hyperventilating when he finally went blind, the pressure behind his eyes becoming intolerable eyes before it finally came too much, and his eyes popped free.

He felt them slide out onto over his checks and onto the floor, the slimy, blood-slick nerves leaving tracks of blood on his face as he became totally and completely blind.

"No," he whispered to himself, retching again on the floor as he scrambled across the cement, trying to find the stairs, unable to see. "No, no! This isn't real!"

Beyond the cellar doors, Steve had his ear pressed against the slight crack between the panels, desperately trying to understand what was going on. He wasn't sure what to make of the noises he was hearing, unable to determine if Billy was just trying to mess with him or if he was in actual distress.

"Hargrove," he said impatiently, turning his head to try and peak in through the crack to get a glimpse of what was going on, "you gotta start talking to me, man; what the hell's going on down there?"

"I'm fucking blind," he heard Billy shout, his voice rife with fear. "I can't see anything!"

His voice was shaking as he spoke, and Steve knew then that whatever was happening was legitimate; Billy wasn't one to openly show weakness.

"Okay, stay calm," Steve stammered, but he wasn't sure if that was actually sound advice or not. "It's- it's going to be okay, okay?"

Billy howled, and Steve understood that the pain that carried with his voice must have been terrible to get him to shriek like that. He licked his lips anxiously, not knowing what support he could possibly offer him. He continuously opened and shut his mouth, words of encouragement dying on his tongue before he could manage to speak them.

And then, all at once, the cacophony of agony ceased.

Steve couldn't hear anything over the rapid sound of his breathing for a moment before he finally spoke: "Hargrove? Is… are you okay?"

"Hurts." Billy's voice, quiet, strained, and barely audible over the sounds of things (flesh, fabric) slowly tearing, sounded disconcertingly like he was speaking with a throat full of water. It was gargling and grotesque; completely unlike the smooth, honeyed voice he'd become known for.

"Okay, what, uh, what… what hurts?" Steve whispered in response, fear quieting his previously urgent tone.

"Everything."

"Shit," Steve said to himself, backing away from the cellar door panels as the sounds of something large and heavy being knocked over made him jump. "Just, uh, stay calm," he said, though he wasn't sure if he was saying it to himself or Billy. From down below, he heard Billy groan loudly before going silent again.

Steve's heart was pounding as he hesitated, unsure of what to do. All the details of Billy's haphazardly concocted plan fled his mind as he tried to think back on what they'd agreed to do if something ended up happening, and his first instinct was to open the doors to go down and check on him. He looked at the chains wrapped tightly around the door handles and bit his lip before crouching down and pressing his eye to the crack.

The overhead light wasn't bright enough to reveal much, but at the base of the stairwell there was a small circle of illumination. Steve squinted, ignoring the cold of the steel as he pressed his face against the door, trying to see all that he could.

Blood stains. Torn bits of… something he couldn't quite make out. Dark masses on the stairwell; lots of evidence that pointed towards Billy transforming, but no trace of Billy himself.

"Hargrove," Steve whispered, and then shook his head to clear himself of his cowardice. "Hargrove," he said again, louder and with more emphasis, "dude, you have to talk me through what's happening down there."

He waited, unconsciously holding his breath as he waited for a reply. It was steadily growing darker as the sun slowly sank, making it all the harder to see into the cellar from the tiny slit. Frowning and unable to see anything, Steve turned his head and pressed his ear against the door. From somewhere in the depths of the cellar he could hear something breathing heavily. It was moving, too; he could hear something shuffling, moving around the floor space cautiously.

When he turned his head again to see through the crack, he caught a glimpse of... something large and hulking cross under the light, tall enough to set the lightbulb swinging. He couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath of air, his lungs and throat burning with the sting of the cold weather. The thing- whatever Billy had become- halted just outside the rim of light. Entranced, Steve found he couldn't move as it emitted a low, threatening growl that sounded more like a man impersonating a dog than an actual beast.

From his limited viewpoint, he couldn't see the way the muscles in its legs were tightening, or how it had begun to crouch; he didn't have time to react as it sprang forward, jumping up the stairs in a single leap to ram itself against the doors.

The chains held the doors shut, but the sudden impact smashed the metal against Steve's nose and soon all he could smell was blood as it drained out of his nostrils. He fell backwards, holding his nose as the Billy-creature growled again. Horrified, Steve could only sit in the snow and watch as the doors lurched forward when Billy rammed against them again, trying to escape. The second impact loosened the restraints, and all Steve could do in that moment was watch as they rattled uselessly in place, beginning to slip through the handles as they hadn't been properly locked into place.

Cursing to himself, staggered to his feet and rushed to grab the chains, but as Billy threw his body against the doors again it soon became obvious that even if the doors stayed shut, they were about to pop free of their hinges entirely. Blood dripped down over his lips and onto the metal panels as he tried to think of what he could possibly do to counteract the damage Billy had done. In an act of desperation, he threw himself against the steel and hoped that his added bodyweight would be enough to keep them in place.

If it managed to do anything, he couldn't tell. Almost immediately Billy was throwing himself against the doors again, nearly bucking Steve off.

"Stop!" Steve cried out, grasping for the chains to hold them in place. His fingers scrabbled against the cold steel links even as Billy let out another deep, throaty growl. With the doors as loose as they were, Steve was almost certain the doors wouldn't survive another body-slam. "Give it up, Hargrove!" Steve said again, desperately. "Just- fuck, Billy, stop!"

He braced himself for another impact, but it never came. Eyes closed in anticipation, Steve blinked them open and exhaled shakily, his fingers trembling as he let the chains go. Crystalized air puffed out in front of his face over and over as he rolled off the doors and stood up unsteadily, trying to wipe away the blood that had already frozen over and turned to crust on his upper lip. Somehow, miraculously, his pleading had worked, but before he could take comfort in that fact, other disturbing sounds began to creep back up to him from down below.

Things were being tossed around; the metallic clang of old paint cans being bounced off the floors and walls mixed with the hoarse, angry vocalizations of the creature Billy had become made his blood run colder than the air currently was. The noises Billy was making were at once both animalistic and human, deep and throaty and more akin to the bellows of a moose than a man or wolf.

Steve stood in front of the cellar doors not knowing what to do. Already their plan was falling apart, and he was quickly becoming aware of how vastly unprepared he was to handle the situation. He wanted the security of the bat in his trunk, but didn't trust himself to leave the doors unattended for the length of time it would take him to run back inside and grab his keys to get it, but he felt so weak without it.

Another loud, crashing noise came from within and Steve stilled, listening intently. Faintly, he could hear Billy snuffling about, and after the sun finally completely descended, all was quiet. His nose was throbbing as he stood attentively, but when nothing more could be heard, his stomach sank.

With trembling hands and his mind screaming at him to stop, he knelt by the doors and slowly unwound the chains from the handles. The fact that he couldn't hear anything coming from within didn't sit well with him; he had to make sure Billy was still down there.

He tried to shift the chains as quietly as possible, but with how nervous he was, he had a hard time keeping his hands steady. They rattled noisily against the door, grating on his already frazzled nerves as they slid free. Heart pounding madly, Steve carefully pulled the doors open and took the first step down into the cellar.

It was silent. He couldn't hear anything as he hesitantly took a second step, mentally berating himself over and over for being stupid enough to walk defenseless into the lion's mouth. He had no idea what Billy was capable of now, or if he'd even recognize him enough to (hopefully) have enough sense to not harm him. The lightbulb that dangled freely from the ceiling was swaying, throwing its light around erratically, showing him glimpses of the gore that lined the steps.

Eyes wide, Steve gagged at the sight of the flayed strips of bloodied skin that were splattered near everywhere. He had to avert his eyes as he took another step, making slow progress as he was careful not to step in any of the mess. At the bottom of the stairs he warily peered around the walls, hoping he'd only stuck his head into the lion's mouth figuratively. To his immediate relief, but long-term dismay, there was no trace of Billy to be seen in the space of the cellar.

Exhaling deeply, Steve tried to even out his breathing as he came to stand in the middle of the room, looking around to assess the damage. As the swinging lightbulb steadied, he turned towards where the shelf that was hiding the tunnel had been and found it on the ground, knocked to its side and several feet away from where it had originally been positioned. His shoulders drooped at the realization of Billy's escape.

He went and stood before the opening of the tunnel and felt all hope of remedying the situation vanish. A numbness overtook him as he recognized his responsibilities of keeping Billy captive had changed; he was the only one who knew about Billy's circumstances, and he was the only one who could do anything about it now. Distantly, and much further away then he would've liked, he could hear the muted, labored sounds of Billy's breathing as he escaped confinement through the underground system.

The burden of his responsibilities threatened to overwhelm him in that instant, but instead of letting himself be overtaken by despair, Steve took a deep, steadying breath and rolled his shoulders back. He hesitated for only a minute before he took charge and ran in after him, disregarding his urgent need to turn back and get his bat out of the car. There was no time, he thought; no time to get a weapon, no time to get a flashlight. If Billy was now as the werewolf in the woods was, then he was capable of speeds greater than Steve could muster, and every second mattered. If he lost his trail now, then it would be lost to him entirely. There was no time; he had to go now or he wouldn't go at all.

Alone and unarmed Steve ran, chasing after Billy into the dark, cold tunnel, hoping he would be able to catch him in time, and dreading the repercussions that would come if he couldn't.

#harringrove #harringrove fic #billy hargrove/steve harrington #billy/steve #steve harrington #billy hargrove #werewolf!billy #slow burn #long fic #stranger things #stranger things fic

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